FIRST LOVE
by Vicadin-Tea
Summary: AU. Arranged marriage is never a good thing. Especially when one party is an 18 year old and still in high school while the other is a 29 year old aspiring pervert. Ah well, may love conquer all. KakaXNaru mainly.
1. STEP 1 Start!

"No! Ero-jii… Jii-san! Please don't die! Don't leave me alone. I've lost father and mother. Please don't leave me too…Please…"

"Naruto… I… I…"

"No! No, no, no! Please don't leave me! …JII-SAN!"

* * *

**FIRST LOVE **

**Step I: Spring is a season that heralds love**

A young blonde boy sobbed as he fisted the blankets gathered around an elderly old man in the hospital. The blonde boy was Uzumaki Naruto, adopted grandchild of Jiraiya, a famous novelist in the fields of many literature (though most were of dubious origin and slanted towards the adult industry) and a widely acclaimed author in the bustling city of Konohagakure. It had been a peaceful spring day and both Jiraiya and Naruto had gone to the hot springs for a relaxing vacation when _it_ happened.

Jiraiya collapsed.

Furthermore, it happened when he was hiding in one of the taller trees with a good view of the women's side of the hot springs. The cause of collapse and the trauma caused by the impact of the fall brought a sobbing Naruto and a half unconscious Jiraiya to the Konoha Medical Park, where Jiraiya had been operated on by his trusted childhood friend, Tsunade. However, his injuries got slightly worse when he accidentally groped Tsunade's chest and the lady had retaliated with a fist on his head. Coincidentally, that had been the spot where Jiraiya fell on. This brought the aggravated situation to a higher level.

By the way, that had all transpired 3 days ago.

Jiraiya gasped as he held onto the boy's shivering hands. "Naruto… Naruto, listen to me… I'm already old and frail. I think I might not come back from the spiritual gates (of hell or heaven is still a debatable issue) from this incident. You must… be strong."

Naruto merely cried more and shook his head.

"Listen! …You're a big boy now… Already 18… I was already a well-known lady-killer with many underlings at your age. Ugh…kof kof kof…" The white haired man broke down into hacking coughs. The ECG from the heart monitoring machine had rapidly decreased.

"Ji-Jii-san! Wait! I'll be back!" Naruto, alarmed by this grave change of events, thought that this could possibly be the last breath Jiraiya might be taking and frantically dashed out of the room to look for the best healer in the city.

* * *

"Baa-san! It's not good! Jii-san is… Jii-san is…. He's… d-dying!" Tears were already spurting out from the corners of his beautiful blue eyes and the poor boy was already hiccupping. "Please…-hic- Hurry and -hic- save him!" 

"What?" The busty elderly lady exclaimed before muttering softly under her breath, "What stunt is that ero-jii pulling this time…?"

"Mou…Che! Kakashi! Take care of this little brat here. I'll go see what that old man is up to now." With an irritated flick of her long blond hair, Tsunade turned and stomped towards a certain room to give a certain man a piece of her mind, leaving a young man with spiky silver hair and the young boy with the golden hair.

"Uee… What should I do? What should I do? Jii-san…" Crying and wrapping his arms around himself, Naruto suddenly felt so scared and lonely.

The scenario felt like the one 13 years ago when his parents were in the operating theatres fighting for their lives.

_:Flashback:_

"That. Is. Why. I don't understand you men. Why must you organize these functions and take the whole family with you? It's so troublesome; I had to dig out the family's traditional kimono, wear it and act like Yamato Nadeshiko (1), and talk about mundane things with all those people. Mou… it's such a waste of time. Hm, but at least I got to dress Naru-chan in a nice, cute kimono. Right Naru-chan?" His mother smiled as she turned and reached out for the little blonde toddler in the back seat.

"Uhn!" The five-year-old nodded, not really paying attention to his surroundings as he fiddled with a ninja toy and thumped it on his seat. His mother softly caressed his smooth cheeks and ruffled his soft hair then turned back to her husband.

"Maa… it's not really my fault right? I didn't want to attend too but being the head of the clan is like that… Ah, but did you see Hatake's son? He has grown up to be such a fine boy. I'm sure he'll be a very capable man like his father when he's older. Hatake-san was so proud of him. Ne, do you think Naru-chan…"

"Yes! I decided! We'll marry Naru-chan to that Hatake boy! They will look very cute together…"

"Har? Ano… That wasn't what I was going to say…" His father broke a cold sweat when he saw a frown slowly creeping over his wife's countenance then quickly amended his sentence. "Uh, I mean, yeah! I think Naru-chan would look great with Ka…"

"Anata! Abunai!" (2)

"Eh? Ah-!"

"Naruto!" Both his parents turned and reached out for the little boy. The only thing the toddler could remember was a sharp pain in his cheeks, two incredibly warm bodies shielding him then a huge blanket of white enveloped all senses.

They had encountered a terrible car accident on their way home; his parents had been turning out of the road when a truck from the adjacent lane skidded and crashed into their car… At least that was what the people in the dark navy and black uniforms had told him in simple words when he woke up in the room. He had miraculously got off with only a few scrapes – 3 whisker-like scars on each cheek and some on his hands – and a light knock on the head. But his parents were not so lucky. The feeling of helplessness and fear when he learnt that his parents were 'being treated but might not come back to him' was terrifyingly overwhelming and the whiteness of the walls and chemical smells of the hospital did nothing to soothe his nerves. But… there was someone there who had held him and whispered comforting words in his ears. There had been warm hands clutching his small, shaking ones when he had sobbed on his hospital bed…

_:End Flashback:_

"Uh, are you… okay?" A soft, slightly muffled tenor voice asked, breaking his thoughts.

"…"

"…He'll be fine…"

"… -hic- …"

"… …"

* * *

"What are you up to now, you stupid horny old man?" Tsunade bellowed as she slammed the door open and found Jiraiya sitting in his bed with a pale face and an open jaw. One of his hands was reaching for a remote controller while the other was fiddling with a sparkling orange book with a huge red title and many hearts. 

"Eh… Tsunade-chan! I was… eh…."

"What do you think you're doing? Making Naruto cry like a girl with that load of sham…that poor boy is worrying his head off about you and you're still fooling around! I'm going to TELL him the TRUTH!"

"NO--!" Jiraiya screamed as he dive face-first towards Tsunade and wrapped his arms around her waist. "NO! Don't do that! This is a good chance to fulfil Naruto's father's wishes!"

"What wishes?"

"..."

"Oi!"

"Hmmm… feels good…"

"OI! Let me go! You… Stop rubbing your face in my chest! Where do you think you are touching! …LET ME GO!"

* * *

A few punches in one room and complete silence shrouding two young people on the other spectrum of the hospital later found the four parties in Jiraiya's room. 

"Ah… Kakashi, you've come."

The silver haired man with the half covered face stepped closer to the bed and bowed respectfully. "Yes, Jiraiya jii-sama. I apologize for coming this late. This is my little offering to you; I hope it improves your condition." He whipped out a large fruit-basket and a few magazines with the words "ERO", "Limited Edition", "HOT!" and "Miss Underground Konoha" on the cover pages, and stacked the articles neatly on the bedside table.

Jiraiya's eyes glittered for a moment before they resumed the solemn-ness and he nodded at the younger man.

"Naruto…" Jiraiya called weakly. "I… I've something to tell you…"

"Yes, jii-san…?" The teen stepped forward as well.

"You know your deceased father and I are almost like real father and son… Before he died, he entrusted me with you and told me to look after you…"

"Uhn…." Naruto was struggling not to cry but his tear ducts were already wobbling.

"It seems I cannot do that for much longer…"

"…ungh…" Fat tears were already rolling down the whisker cheeks…

"This man here is Hatake Kakashi. He is the son of your father's right-hand man and is a very capable person… Before your father died… he had told me that his wish was to see you spend the rest of your life with a good other-half…"

"…Eh?"

"Naruto… Your father had specifically told me to leave you with Kakashi if something were to happen to me… He said that he would be happy 'if his dear Naru-chan were to wed his best friend's son'… …Naruto, you're already of legal age to get married this year."

"But I…"

"The both of you, I have a request. Please fulfil the wishes of the late 4th head of the Uzumaki family and get married. Kakashi, I'm entrusting Naruto to you now… Please take good care of him."

"W-w-What!" Two voices screamed in perfect harmony.

Ah, spring is here.

**:To be continued: **

**

* * *

**Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. 

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore). OCC-ness, pathetic attempts at humor and shounen-ai.

Notes:

(1) Yamato Nadeshiko – "Perfect Woman"

(2) "Anata! Abunai!" – "Dear! Watch out!"

A/N:

Wah! This is my first attempt at trying to write Kakashi as a main character so I think he might be super-duper OOC in this story. Got this idea when I saw a movie about a young bride (can't remember the title) and for some reason, Naruto came to my mind. XD Eh, I haven't really stopped Helloo Nurse! but an unfortunate incident involving a hard disk, a power failure and crashing occurred, so I have to see what I'm going to do about that. And I've still got Dear Myself too. Ah! So many unfinished works that I hope to complete by early next year; I'll work hard.

I think I need a beta.

As usual, R & R are welcome. Don't be shy!


	2. STEP 2

Naruto was slowly turning into stone... in the figurative sense, of course.

Was he turning deaf? Was he dreaming everything? It cannot be true right? Jii-san did not just ask him to marry some suspicious-guy-with-a-suspicious-hair-color-with-a-suspicious cloth-mask-with-suspicious-hobbies, did he? Naruto recalled that stack of materials the silvered-hair guy pulled out along with the fruit basket and frowned more.

No, it can't be true. This is not happening. His ears must be turning deaf from all that yelling he got on a regular large dose from his teachers and from the baa-san. Or maybe everything was just a dream, no, nightmare. Yeah, that must all be a nightmare… …

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**Step II: And thus it begins**

"Naruto?" The suspicious-guy-with-a-suspicious-hair-color-with-a-suspicious cloth-mask-with-suspicious-hobbies asked… and was promptly ignored by the younger boy.

'_This little…_' Kakashi thought as he discreetly gritted his teeth. "Oi, Naruto. You've been sitting outside for an hour. Jiraiya jii-sama got worried, you know?"

Without looking at the elder man, Naruto got up from the bench and headed towards the hospital.

"O-Oi! You… Wait up!"

"…" Naruto increased his pace.

"Che! Damn kid!" Kakashi muttered softly before running after the blonde. "WAIT A MINUTE! OI! I said, WAIT UP!"

"Shut up! I don't know you so don't call me so familiarly! I don't wanna see you right now so leave me alone!" The boy yelled, when Kakashi caught his sleeve, and tried to pull away from the man. "Argh! Let. Me. Go! Let go! I'm gonna scream if you don't let go this instant!"

"Wait… wait, I…" Before the scarecrow (1) could finish his speech, his ear drums (and the neighboring ear drums as well) were attacked by the loudest shriek they ever encountered.

"AH--! H-E-L-P! Help me! Somebody! This man here wants to rape me! Help!" The teen screamed in a loud falsetto as he did a little struggle.

All eyes strayed towards the strange couple and they promptly narrowed when they saw an older man holding a struggling cute young boy. The word "Pedophile" was shining neon.

The silver-haired man sweated. He quickly retracted his arms and just held his smaller companion's hand. "Ah, no! This… this is a… a misunderstanding! This kid here is my soon-to-be husband and I'm just tak…" He was shoved away a second later.

"Who the hell is your soon-to-be husband! I'm not going to marry you! I don't even like men! So don't think your grimy paws can touch my NICE BODY!" The blonde yelled as he pulled his coat over his torso and acted like a scandalized virgin.

Every single animate object stopped and sweat dropped at that statement.

"W-What!" Naruto screeched.

Kakashi sighed and reached out for the teen's hand again. "Just get here, you shitty brat. Visiting hours are over so we can come tomorrow. Jiraiya jii-sama asked me to take you home… Come on."

"I can stay here! Baa-san said so!" Naruto tugged away from the man and headed for the hospital again.

"Stop being a brat! Just come with me already!" The taller man reached out for his shoulder this time.

"I don't wanna follow a dubious character like you… And I'm not a brat!" The boy shrugged off the hand and gave the elder man _the_ finger.

"I'm not dubious, you shitty brat! When I call you a brat, you're a fucking brat!" Kakashi felt his patience slowly snapping.

"You are shady! And calling me brat is bad enough! Don't you dare call me a shitty or fucking brat, you fucking pervert!" And that was the straw that would break the scarecrow's back.

"You— !"

"WHY ARE YOU TWO FUCKING BRATS MAKING SO MUCH FUCKING NOISE IN FRONT OF THE FUCKING HOSPITAL?" Tsunade screamed as she delivered two punches to the squabbling couple, sending Naruto sprawling into Kakashi's arms.

"Ite…" (2)

"You guys are making too much noise here! This is a hospital! People come here to get treated in peace! You guys are disturbing that peace! Now get going, the two of you, before I give you my Tsunade-special!" Tsunade roared as she shook her almighty fists.

With that order thrown in their faces, the two quickly scrambled and left the hospital in a hurry.

* * *

"It's your damn fault, you stupid pervert!" Naruto grumbled as he rubbed his head and hands. He scrapped one when he fell onto the older man and now his hand was throbbing badly. '_Maybe I sprained it...?All his fault!_' The boy frowned more and turned to glare at the man sitting next to him. "If you had just left me alone, I wouldn't have screamed. Then baa-san wouldn't have hit me and I'll be at Jii-san's side." 

"…" Kakashi merely raised his (one visible) brow and rubbed his sore spot as well.

"Don't keep quiet like that! Don't you think you should amend your mistake? Humph! I knew it! You are not a responsible adult at all! Humph! I'm leaving. Don't follow me."

As he stood up, warm arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind and one pale hand took his injured hand and held it gently.

"Wait… …You sprained it just now right?" Kakashi asked as he leaned down slightly and inspected his injury. His face was so close to Naruto's. If he was not wearing that cloth mask, his breath would probably be tickling the youngster's ear.

"You-you-you-you… G-get away from me…" Naruto stuttered as he pulled his (injured) hand away and used **both** hands to push the taller man away.

"Ah."

Naruto realized his mistake when he heard a soft snap and a white, searing hot pain ran through his right wrist. "ITAI—!"

* * *

45 minutes later, Kakashi was wrapping a bandage around a scowling and slightly tearing Naruto's wrist in the living room of the Uzumaki household. 

"There. This should be fine." The man smiled as he added some finishing touches (a butterfly bow) to the bandage.

"It is **not** fine at all... :sniffs: How am I going to eat, write, bathe and do other stuff?"

The silver-haired man closed the first-aid box and shrugged nonchalantly. "Use your left hand."

Naruto exploded. "You think I can just use my left hand overnight? It's all your fault! If you didn't do that, I wouldn't have… Argh! …I hate you! The more I think about it, the madder I get. Argh! Just get out of my sight!"

"So everything is my fault, huh… Fine! I'll take responsibility." With that, he carried Naruto bridal-style and headed towards the bathroom.

"You! What do you think you're doing? Let me down!" The boy panicked as he tried to struggle out of the man's hold.

Kakashi only cocked a brow and replied. "Taking responsibility."

"Why-why are you taking me to the bathroom? No way! Are you thinking of raping me there? Oh no! Somebody help me!" Naruto screamed as he used his good hand and hit Kakashi.

"Ungh. Just stay still, damn it!"

"No! Stop! What are you doing! Don't take off my clothes! Uwah-! No! This cannot be true! My body is going to be corrupted! And by a man!" Waterfalls of tears ran down his whiskered cheeks as he shut his eyes, not wanting to witness what was soon to happen… …only to receive a bucket of cold water in his face. "Wha—?"

"Stupid kid! I'm taking responsibility by being your 'right hand'. I'll clean you now, feed you later then make you sleep. Hn! You think I wanna touch a shitty brat like you? My hit zone is 20 to 32 years old. I'm not interested in under-developed boys like you! So shush!" Kakashi muttered as he took a cucumber loofah and started scrubbing Naruto's arms and back. "Just stay still. I'll leave you alone once I put you to bed."

Naruto bit his lips and gritted out a soft 'fine' before staying completely still and quiet. '_Humph! Stupid guy. As if I want him to touch me! Humph!_'

But despite thinking that, he couldn't help but feel a little hurt by the senior's comment.

"Alright. It's a bit early but rest well. I'll come tomorrow morning to pick you up. You can wait for me to bathe you if you want." The older man smirked as he pulled the blanket over the blonde.

"Damn you! I can clean myself!" Naruto scowled as he turned his head away.

"Ho… is that so? A guy who can't even wear his shirt properly can clean himself? Hmm… oh well, if you say so. I'll go home now. Rest early and don't do any stupid things while I'm gone."

"Humph!"

Kakashi switched off the lights and prepared to leave. At the door, he stopped for a second then slowly turned to look at the kid before he left. "Well then, good night and sweet dreams… Naruto."

Blue eyes shot open. The youth sat up and was about to scream when he heard the door clicked close. "Che! Idiot." He lied back down on the bed and scowled.

* * *

The day's events drove Naruto to a slight insomnia. Sitting up, his thoughts drifted to the events. 

'Mou… I can't believe Jii-san asked me to marry that kind of guy. Humph. But well… he wasn't too bad… At least he didn't grope me in the bath just now. If he did, I'll kill him… Hmm, and he cooked some nice ramen and fed me too. But still! He is so irritating and kept calling me 'kid' and 'brat' and… Oh no! Why am I thinking about him? This is bad... Sleep now, Naruto… …Mou, I hope that stupid guy won't haunt me in my dreams…Meh, after spending the whole day with him, I'm sure I won't sleep well anyway. Ah! Why am I still thinking about him! Naruto, sleep!'

The boy quickly closed his eyes and within a few minutes, he drifted off to the world of dreams... …

_A little blonde boy, perhaps only at the age of 4 years old or less, was found sitting on a deserted swing and weeping silently. His toys were strewn all over the place and some were broken into many pieces. The boy himself looked a bit scruffy and one knee was scrapped and bleeding and his right hand was sporting some bruises as well. _

_It was a rather heartbreaking sight. _

"_Hey… are you okay?" a soft voice called out. _

_Naruto sniffed and looked up. His large cornflower blue eyes were met with a pair of mismatched ones and he quickly wiped his tears away. _

"_Uhn." Naruto nodded. _

"_Ho… …that's good then." The older boy said. "You look kind of pathetic sitting in this deserted swing all alone so I thought I'll be a good nii-chan and see what's wrong."_

_Naruto cocked his head and took on a puzzled look. "What does 'pathetic' mean?" _

"_You don't know…?" The boy sweat-dropped then shrugged his shoulders. "Maa… I guess that word is too big for a little kid like you. Come on, stop crying like a girl. I'll take you around." The boy raised his hand and waited for Naruto to hold it. _

_Naruto pouted and turned his head away. "Am not little! Am not a girl!"_

"_All right, all right. Come on. You wanna go and play right?" _

_The small boy nodded then took the offered hand. Together, the two walked away from the deserted park… …_

Contrary to his belief, Naruto slept very well that night.

**:To be continued:

* * *

**

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei.

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). OCC-ness, bad language, pathetic attempts at humor and shounen-ai.

Notes:

(1) **Kakashi** means **Scarecrow** in Japanese… if you don't already know that by now.

(2) "Ite" – "Ouch". "Itai" also means the same thing, by the way.

A/N:

Thanks for the review. Hmm, I'm sorry if this story had been puzzling. Or was it the formatting that made it look puzzling? Hmm, please do give me some feedback because I'm not too sure how to correct what. :smiles: Does anyone know how I can add in double exclamation marks and other punctuations in ff-net? It's a bit frustrating when all my punctuations go haywire… By the way, I tweaked the ages for the characters a bit. If it bothers you, I apologize.

While writing this story, I realized something — I'm very bad at writing sounds. What sounds does a person make when they cry, laugh or cough?

As usual, R & R are welcome. Don't be shy!


	3. STEP 3

It was going to be a beautiful day... Naruto could feel it in his bones.

'Well, after yesterday, any day would probably be beautiful.' His face turned sour as he recalled the day before, well, the day itself as well as a certain _someone_.

As he packed some reading materials and more clothes for Jiraiya with his good hand, he looked at the clock. 'Hmm, it's already 8:30 a.m. Is that stupid jerk even coming? Where the heck is that lousy-excuse-of-an-adult? Humph! I knew he couldn't be trusted when he said he'll be here early. Che! 30 minutes more...'

After waiting for another half an hour and still no sign of the man, Naruto reasoned he had waited long enough. With that thought and a poor attempt to whistle, he slung the bag around his shoulders, took out a _miso_ flavored rice-bar and skipped out of the house in an amazing mood.

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**Step III: Jiraiya's dying wish… or is it? Alternatively known as Kakashi's Bad Day**

Kakashi shifted the bags of groceries and other stuff to free one of his hands and pressed the doorbell to the kid's apartment. Today was the earliest day he awoke since he hit the age of… he couldn't ever remember when he was early for anything actually. Yet, here he was now, at the brat's place at 9:30 a.m. 'That _chibi-suke_ (**1**) better appreciate this.'

He resisted the urge to laugh when instead of the usual 'ding dong', it was the theme song from 'Doraemon'. Shaking his head, he thought it suited the immature kid pretty well… it would be rather disturbing if Jiraiya jii-sama had been the one to choose that ring tone. When no response came, Kakashi was a bit disappointed and wondered if Naruto was still in bed; he was half-expecting the kid to barrel out of the door and scream murder at him.

Kakashi pressed the doorbell again. This time, it was some (supposedly) famous song by some Italian singer called Palco Folgore or something like that…what was the title of the song… 'Chichi wo Moge' (**2**) ? This one was probably chosen by Jiraiya jii-sama.

After the third try (the theme song from 'Ultraman Tiga') with no response still, the elder man was getting worried. 'Where the hell is that crybaby-noisy-excuse-of-a-boy? Could he be still sleeping with this much noise I made? Hn. I knew he was a brat after all…' He rummaged through the bag of groceries that he had intended to stock up for the blonde and withdrew his mobile.

"Crap. No one picked up. That damn brat! Where the hell is he?" The silver-haired man muttered as he clicked his mobile shut and threw it back into the bag. His mind drifted back to the events yesterday and he wondered if the kid had gotten into any trouble…

_:Flashback:_

"I can wear **my** shirt **myself**!" Naruto screamed as he struggled to get his head out of the (correct hole of the) large, bright orange T-shirt; his one hand was dangling out of a sleeve (the wrong one) while the other was still stuck between the shirt and his body. His bottom half was clad by Kakashi with a cloth over his eyes.

The silver-haired man buried one hand in his hair in exasperation and rolled his eyes heavenward, silently asking _Kami_-sama 'why me' when Naruto let out a yelp and tumbled down the floor.

"Ite-te-te-te-te! My hand, my hand!"

The fall made the boy crumple into a tight ball – the highest state only contortionists could achieve – with only his injured hand sticking out. His head and upper torso were bright orange and his shirt was riding dangerously high.

"More than that, shouldn't you be worried about not smothering yourself?" Kakashi asked as he folded his hands and smirked at the incredulous sight before him. How an 18-year-old could be this clumsy is a big question that researchers should investigate in.

"…k'…so…" The human ball wobbled a bit.

"Oi brat, stop fooling around and just beg me to help you."

"No…fucking…way…" The human ball wriggled more.

"Tsk tsk tsk… What bad language! Is this the type of language kids like you are supposed to use? Just ask for my help before you break the other hand, 'chi.bi.su.ke'!" The older man drawled as he tried to hold in his laughter.

The human ball stopped moving.

"Oi! Stop playing the idiot already… …oi …OI! Naruto!" Kakashi yelled as he untangled the limbs and flipped the boy upright, and carefully extracted the injured hand from the shirt before jerking the whole shirt off.

The boy had fainted, and had even turned slightly blue from the lack of oxygen.

'What to do?' The scarecrow thought nervously as he laid the blonde flat on the floor. 'Well, the first thing is to make him wake up, so… maybe slap him?' And with that thought, he proceeded to slap the life out of Naruto while yelling the boy's name. With still no response, Kakashi was only left with one resort – cardiopulmonary resuscitation. That is also known as CPR. Which translates to mouth-to-mouth; which translates to something-that-Kakashi-is-extremely-reluctant-to-do; which translates to something-Naruto-would-call-'mouth-rape'; which essentially, translates to something-that-should-be-avoided-between-them.

However, the situation now calls for it.

So as Kakashi bent his head and slowly removed his cloth mask, he closed his eyes and fervently prayed that the kid would not open his eyes when he was doing the CPR. Due to this action, he did not realize that the younger boy's eyes were slowly opening until his face was less than approximately 5 cm away.

"Ah."

"Iya—!" With a bloodcurdling scream, Naruto shot up and ran out of the bathroom in record time. In the process, he hit Kakashi on the chin (hard, and with his diamond-hard head too), slipped thrice, stumbled twice and fell on his butt half-naked, which then prompt him to scream more when Kakashi appeared.

_:End Flashback:_

"Could that kid… No way! No way! Naruto! Naruto! NARUTO!" Kakashi yelled as he dropped the shopping bags and pounded on the door, still futilely hoping that the boy would show himself. Tens and hundreds of scenarios, all with Naruto ending half or fully dead, ran through his head as he dashed around the perimeter of the house, checking for unhinged windows to enter the abode. Finally seeing an opening that looked like the blonde's bedroom window, he hurriedly climbed up the adjacent pipes and barreled in.

* * *

"Yo, how are you doing, Jii-san? Feeling much better?" Naruto chirped as he set the bag and picked out the materials for Jiraiya.

"O-Oh… Naruto, I wasn't e-expecting you h-here so e-early." The elderly man stammered as he pulled the blankets higher to his chin.

Indeed, Jiraiya had not been expecting the teen to visit him so early. If he had, he would not have been reading his imported, limited edition materials (all of which were R-21) while drinking _sake_ 5 minutes before the boy tumbled in. The renowned writer (and pervert) prayed that Naruto would not pounce on him or touch his blankets or else, all his recent efforts, as well as materials and sake would be spilling out.

"N-Naruto, could you help me wash these fruits? I'm feeling very thirsty and weak… ugh, kof kof kof… Ah, the bathroom sinks are not working so you have to use those outside…"

"Sure, jii-san! Do you want me to get you anything else?"

"A-Ah, some warm drinks will be nice… I've been feeling so cold lately… ugh, kof kof kof…"

"S-sure, jii-san. I'll be back as soon as possible. Rest more okay?" The blonde immediately carried the whole basket and dashed off to the nearby sinks.

Using that blank time, Jiraiya jumped out of bed; tucked the merchandise and liquor into a safe, dark corner; and fiddled with the tube connecting his wrist to the heart-monitoring machine before jumping back into bed without breaking a sweat.

Naruto re-entered the ward 8 minutes later.

"Here jii-san. Do you want an apple first? It's full of vitamins and fiber… I'm sure it'll help make you healthier." The boy smiled as he carefully peeled off the skin (which makes you wonder why he washed it in the first place) and cut them into thin slices.

Jiraiya made an effort to sit up in bed, then gasped, "What would make… :gasp: …an old man like me… :gasp: …happy is to see you… :gasp: …with someone who will take good care of you…:gasp: …Someone like Kakashi."

The blonde frowned deeply then sighed. "Jii-san… I-I don't think I'm ready to marry yet. Even if I am, I don't think I'll marry a man. I'm not interested in that, I mean, Hatake-san so uhm…"

"Kakashi is a good man… Even though he looks a bit suspicious with that mask, he is actually a good-looking kid. He's a reliable man… I'm sure he'll be a good husband to you…"

"Eh… uhm, but I don't want to marry yet… I can take care of myself just fine; I don't want another person to suddenly enter my life… Jii-san, I'm sure baa-san will help you get better. Then we can live together like before again! Right? Then I don't have to marry right?"

"Argh!" Jiraiya suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed. The heart-monitoring machine rang from a 'di-di-di' to a 'diiiiiiiiiii', signaling Naruto's worse nightmare.

"Jii-san? Jii-san! JII-SAN!" Naruto screamed as he clenched the elder's blankets between his fists. "JII-SAN—!"

* * *

"Where did he go?" The scarecrow growled as he stuffed the gigantic fridge (filled with beer, sake, miso-flavored foods, and plums) with the groceries he bought.

"Don't tell me, he left without me! That damn brat! I told him I'll be here early! Did that kid left early on purpose?" With a resounding 'Bam', the silver-haired man slammed the fridge shut and made his way out the door.

"That kid is dead when I get my hands on him." The front door slammed shut.

When Kakashi reached the hospital, he made a beeline for Jiraiya's ward and stalked towards his destination. He did not even stop to say 'hi' to a few (well-endowed) nurses he had acquainted himself with the day before, nor did he stop for a few minutes to flirt with anyone. He only had one person and one goal in mind— 'to strangle that damn kid'.

When he reached the door, he was almost prepared to slam it open when suddenly a heart-wrenching scream stopped him.

"JII-SAN—!"

'No! Jiraiya jii-sama!' He turned away from the door and ran to Tsunade. Together with the healer, they rushed to the ward where Naruto was crying and repeating 'jii-san… don't leave me…' like a broken recorder.

Abruptly, the heart-monitoring machine beeped to life again.

"Jii-san!" "Jiraiya jii-sama!" The two younger people rushed to hold his hands.

"Ahh… the two of you are here? I thought it was a dream… I felt my soul left my body for a while…"

"Jii-san! Please hold yourself together! Baa-san, do something!" Naruto tightened his hold on Jiraiya's right hand, wishing that he could hold on to his only relative longer like this.

"Naruto… Kakashi… I-I don't think I have much longer… Please at least fulfill an old man's wish before he leaves for another world… Ugh…" Jiraiya wheezed. He brought their hands together and sent them a pleading look. "Please… get married…"

"I'll do it! I'll do it! I'll marry this stupid pervert! Please don't leave me, jii-san!" The blonde finally broke.

Kakashi barely resisted the urge to bop the kid's pretty head when he made that statement; instead, he merely gritted his teeth and mentally added that to the list of why-he-should-strangle-the-brat. When Jiraiya's hand seem to slacken from his hold, he quickly tighten his hold and responded. "I'll do it too, Jiraiya jii-sama. I'll marry this, I mean uh, Naruto."

"Really? The two of you will do it?" Jiraiya asked, as his hold on their hands tightened and his eyes shone.

The two, too overwhelmed by various emotions (the feeling of doom mostly), merely nodded.

"Ah… is that so? Ah, I'm feeling better already… Tsunade-chan, please check my body, just in case." Jiraiya said as he tried to keep his smile in.

The blonde woman could only shake her head and give a mental sigh, then she shooed the younger couple out with a "He'll be fine. Go home, I'll call you later" and shut the door.

With that, the fates of Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi are thus sealed and buried.

* * *

A heavy silence hung in the air around the blonde and silver-haired man, outside the ward, for seemingly eons. The silence was finally broken when a very pretty nurse with a good figure passed by and said 'hi' to Kakashi. The nurse had been one of the more well-acquainted 'friends' that Kakashi made the day before and had left a bigger impression on the older man. Being the pervert that he is, he began his flirtation with the woman. His actions were reciprocated earnestly. While the two were getting chummy, a young teen was getting thoroughly disgusted and slowly nearing the verge of explosion.

'This perverted man. I knew he's no good! I have no more future!' Naruto thought angrily as he witnessed Kakashi used that old 'you have something on your shoulder; let me get it off for you' trick on the nurse. 'Not only is he perverted, he is uncreative as well! Humph! Do these two take me as air particles! Humph! Must get back at this lousy, irresponsible adult!'

"Darling!" Naruto screeched without warning as he threw himself at Kakashi. "Why are you talking to other people when I'm away?"

"Wh—?" Kakashi's and the nurse's eyes had gone all rounded and revealed confusion of extreme depths. People nearby, surprised by the screech from the teen, were also looking at the 'hiro-mero' (**3**) playing out in front of them.

"Mou…" The blonde pouted and hugged the taller man. "Why are you talking to someone so nicely when you have me already? And with a baa-chan… Didn't you say that you like me 'cause I'm young and cute?" The blonde fluttered his lashes to enhance the effects.

"**Baa-chan, you say!**" A vein popped on the nurse's forehead. She turned to glare at Kakashi then gave him a resounding slap. "You sick man! Don't ever let me see you again or you'll be sorry! Humph!"

The blonde gave a mental victory then smiled mischievously. 'Yosh! And now for the finale…'

"Mou… I can't believe you'll flirt with a baa-san… and one with a bad temper too! Didn't you tell me that you'll love me forever and that you'll never look at anyone else? That's why I left my family and eloped with you! How… how could you betray what we had? I cannot tolerate your constant flirting anymore… I-I… Ueee (**4**)…!" The boy slapped Kakashi's other cheek, shed a few crocodile tears then high-tailed out of there before the older man came to his senses and asked for his blood.

"I… Wh—? You… Hey!" The poor man was still wondering what the hell just transpired, when a young man, from the spectators, with extremely super-ultra thick eyebrows and a weird bowl-shaped haircut, and attired in a single shade of forest green from head to toe stepped out to him with teary eyes.

"Mister! That was too much of you! How could you cheat on your younger partner when he sacrificed so much for you?" Waterfalls were pouring out of those rounded eyes of the weird green man now.

"I uh, it's not what it looks like.. uh, that kid and I, we, uh…and the nurse, uh…" Kakashi stuttered as his brains went on overdrive trying to string words to explain the situation. Before he could fully establish himself as the _real_ victim, he was surrounded by other hot-blooded spectators like the 'forest elf' (the weird green man) and forced into a corner literally.

"Yeah mister! That was sick and immoral of you!" One elderly woman stated.

"You two-timing-no-good-cradle-robber!" Another screeched.

"How could you treat a cute kid so heartlessly like that!" A man, this time.

"As I said, it's not what you guys think…"

"What! You're still denying your actions!" A senior citizen exclaimed, bringing more accusations and lectures.

Kakashi felt his last thread of patience and sanity snapped. For the first time in his life , he screamed, "K'SO! TEMERA! (**5**) IT'S NOT WHAT YOU GUYS THINK!" and ran for his life.

* * *

"Naruto! Get out here right now!" Kakashi bellowed the moment he reached the Uzumaki household.

The blonde slowly opened the door then strolled to the kitchen. "Oh, you're home, darling? I prepared lunch… Are you hungry?"

The silver-haired man slammed the door shut and stomped after the blonde. "You fucking brat! Because of you, I became a heartless, sick, immoral, two-timing-no-good-cradle-robber in the eyes of the public! Don't you think you have something to say?"

Naruto opened the fridge and looked over his shoulders. He rolled his eyes upwards and pretended to be deep in thought. "Hmm… Not really."

"You—!"

"Don't be so angry, _darling_." The younger boy said teasingly before patting the older man on the shoulder and returned to preparing lunch.

"So you wanna play dirty huh? Well, two can play the game, _my love_!" The scarecrow swiftly turned off the stove, tossed the boy over his shoulders and headed towards the bedroom, all the way ignoring the screams and kicks and punches flailing at him.

Throwing the blonde onto the bed, Kakashi climbed over the younger boy and trapped his hands (taking care with the bandaged one) and legs, rendering Naruto immobile.

"So _my love_, since we're _together_, shouldn't we be doing 'couple-things'?"

"Let go! You're the worst! Let go of me this instant!" Naruto yelled and struggled against the man on top of him.

"Why should I let you go? We'll be married soon anyway right?"

"No… let go… let go…"

"No, _my love_, you should let me make up for what I did just now by showing you much I _love_ you right?" Kakashi continued teasing as he slowly bent his face nearer towards Naruto.

"…"

"Oi. Brat."

"…"

"…Kid?"

Naruto was crying. Fat tears were rolling out of his squeezed-shut eyes and he was shivering silently. Alarmed, Kakashi quickly got off the boy and pulled him into his arms, whispering 'sorry' in the boy's ears and rubbing soothing circles on his back.

A few minutes later, the tears ceased.

"I'm sorry, kid. I just… I was so pissed off I exploded. But I shouldn't have made such a bad joke… Sorry. I'm really, truly sorry..." Kakashi got up and left the room.

Seeing the guilt on the older man's face, Naruto felt ashamed as well. He had been the one to start the prank after-all. Just as he stood from the bed, the door suddenly opened and Kakashi entered the room with a package.

"Uhm, I got this for you. Well, I was supposed to give this to you when I meet you yesterday but uh, things got bad and one thing led to another… I'll just leave it here and uhm, go. I'll leave you alone."

"Wait! Uhm, I… Sorry. It's my fault as well… so… don't go." Naruto ducked his head and twirled the hem of his shirt, missing the shocked-turned-tender look Kakashi shot him.

"Aa."

"Heh… Uhm, stay for lunch?"

"Aa."

"Mou… stop giving me one-syllable answers like this! …Hehe… but you gotta admit, I got you good just now, didn't I?"

Kakashi bopped Naruto's head. "…Shut up."

As the two settled down to lunch and teased and got on each other's nerves some-more, a similar thought resonated in their heads.

'My future might not be so doomed after all.'

**:To be continued:

* * *

_Omake_**

"So what's this?" Naruto asked curiously as he tore into the package and carefully wrapped his head hand around his present and took it out.

It was a snow globe. There were two small elfin figures — the taller one had silver hair while the shorter one had golden hair — and they seemed to be chasing after each other. When Naruto shook the globe, tiny pink and red hearts flew around the two figures.

"Like it?"

"Yeah! I love snow globes! How did you know?" The blonde chirped as he carefully placed it by his table lamp.

"Hm, it was a special free gift for buying the rare limited version of Icha Icha Paradise— Mystical Creature feature. I'm glad you like it!" Kakashi's one visible eye crinkled as he smiled.

"You… You lousy, immoral cheapskate! I hate you!" With that, Naruto launched at the taller man.

A small receipt for a snow globe worth 15, 9 00 (**6**) yen lay crumpled and hidden in the depths of a grocery bag.

* * *

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei.

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Long title, long flashback, major OCC-ness, bad language, pathetic attempts at humor and shounen-ai.

Notes:

(1) 'chibi-suke' – brat, kid equivalent

(2) 'Chichi wo Moge' and 'Palco Folgore' are taken from Konjiki no GashBell or Zatchbell. It's an awesome song!

(3) 'hiro-mero' – daytime drama or soap opera in Japanese

(4) 'Ueee' – that's actually the 'weeping' equivalent in Japanese

(5) "K'SO! TEMERA!..." means "Shit! You guys!" It's something that Kakashi would never say, I think.

(6) I think that's about… US$140-something? But it was taken from Kakashi's birthday (15 September). Sadly I couldn't squeeze in Naruto's birthday (because no snow globes would cost _that_ much) so I ended it with two zeroes.

A/N:

Thanks for the wonderful reviews. It was very encouraging and I'm glad that were offers for beta from Gothic Kacie and Anjo. Thanks! I'll try not to bother you guys, but I might if I feel unsure with my writing from time to time. :smiles:

Eh, I think Kakashi is a bit emotional in this chapter. :sweat-drops: So that's the major OOC ever, I think. There might be some mistakes here and there as well since I was rushing this, so do please let me know if you spot any.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter anyway. This chappie is a present from me to anyone reading this!. :smiles: Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

As usual, R & R are welcome. Don't be shy!


	4. STEP 4

"No, don't! Please! Ah… Ah… What are you doing? Uhn, no!" A half-naked blonde screamed as he thrashed wildly on the bed, fists hitting a larger silver-haired man straddling him.

"Fufufufu… **(1)** You should know by now that resistance is futile. Now come on, be good, Naru-chan… -hearts-" The man cackled as he tried to wrestle off the boy's pants.

Naruto kicked, flailed and screamed as hard as he could but it was to no avail; the stupid pervert was too strong.

"Be a good wife, Naruto. I'll treat you well…" were the last words Naruto heard before…

"AAHHHHHHHHH ———————————————————!!"

A blonde boy shot up from bed, his fox-paw printed pajamas soaked in sweat and his fox-ears nightcap laid haphazardly on his equally soaked pillow. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to spring out of his ribcage any minute. His ears were ringing and his eyes saw nothing.

A few still moments later, the boy regained his bearings (from the mental trauma) and expelled a sigh of relief.

"So it was just a dream. THANK KAMI!"

Looking at the Ultraman Tiga clock by his bed — it was already 5 a.m., an inconvenient time where he's stuck between going back to bed or getting to school too early — he got up from bed and prepared to set a new record for the new term, albeit with much grumbling and cursing at a particular someone. Someone who 'if he thinks he can get me to be a good wife, he's gonna get a good kick in the nuts, that pervert scarecrow!'

Somewhere in an executive apartment, a silver haired man shot up from his bed and sneezed before grabbing his blanket and plopping back to bed.

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**Step IV: What the name Hatake Kakashi strikes in the hearts of many**

"Oi Naruto, why look so down? This is only the start of the first term, ya know? This dead-fish look of yours only appears near the mid terms and the exams yo …-sigh- …Seeing your face like this makes me miss Akamaru already…"

"Naruto, you okay? Do you want some of my rice crackers? I'll let you choose between the Teriyaki and the BBQ ones."

"…."

"Come to school early and this is the first thing I see? This is troublesome…"

Four voices (three actually, but it's the presence that counts) piped up behind him as Naruto sat at his desk looking like ramen has been banned from the face of the earth and all the miso in the world has been buried and forgotten **(2)**.

Irritated and deprived of sleep, the blonde turned to face his friends and gritted his teeth.

"… Leave me alone-ttebayo!"

"Aww… Naru-chan is in a bad mood today? Could it be …is it that time of the month? Heh, I'm glad I came to school earlier today to see your miserable face." Inuzuka Kiba, the canine-maniac and second loudest in the group, smirked and ruffled the boy's blonde hair, messing it up even more.

A vein ticked on Naruto's forehead.

"Kiba, that's physically impossible. After all, Naruto is male." Aburame Shino, the coolly logical, enigmatic and quiet one in the group, inserted his two-cents.

Used to Shino's ability to state the obvious, the group merely gave a one minute silence before moving on.

Akimichi Chouji, the kind-hearted, big-boned (self-proclaimed) and constantly hungry, merely looked at Naruto in concern before rummaging in his bags and pulling out the 2 bags of crackers then dangled them in the blonde's face. His own drool was slowly accumulating already, though.

The last person in the group merely sighed and plopped down in front of the blonde.

"Just tell us what's wrong already. It's just going to get more troublesome with Kiba later." Nara Shikamaru muttered (earning a dirty glare from Kiba in the process and a 'who is troublesome, you say!') as he yawned loudly and looked out the window. Today's weather seems nice but it might be a cloudless day… Che. That means he couldn't skip class and go cloud-watching later.

"… …Do you guys really want to know?" The blonde asked, his blue eyes widening at the unexpected concern (?) his friends were expressing.

"Yes."

"Do you guys really, really want to know?" The cerulean orbs widen more.

"**Yes.**"

"Really, really, really want to know?" The blue eyes were sparkling now.

"**YES.**"

"Hmm, but I don't really feel like telling… What to do…" The blonde muttered as he looked away from the group, oblivious to the murderous looks and aura directed his way.

"… …."

"I'm gonna kill this kid. Everyone in right?" Kiba growled as he cracked his knuckles and stretched his arms. Shino adjusted his shades, making them sparkle menacingly. Chouji ripped open the bag of BBQ crackers with a loud 'snap' and flames were burning in his eyes. Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.

"Ah… Stop. Stop! I'll tell… Alright since you guys really wanna know…" The blonde sneaked a peek at the four boys and saw the killing aura rose. "I'll say."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto declared (softly, since a few students were trickling in) with a miserable face, "I'm getting married."

"No!" The (Italian-accented) negative was ejected by a shell-shocked Kiba, who was shaking his head feverishly and at a rapid pace. If he kept that up for the next few minutes, ceteris paribus, there was a high possibility that he would break his neck.

Shino was so shocked that he didn't even eject his usual "…". Instead, his shades slipped down the bridge of his nose revealing slightly more than his eyebrows and his high collars flopped over like a dead flower.

The bag of chips, previously in a death grip in the boy's right hand, scattered around Chouji's sneaker-clad feet almost artistically, like the last of the cherry blossoms fluttering in the wind outside. The lump of half-masticated chips that followed swiftly was almost like, well to be explicit, it was akin to waste falling from a rhino's posterior and made Naruto grimace.

The only one who didn't seem as surprised as the others was Shikamaru. He stared at Naruto then ruffled the boy's head and went back to his seat, towing the other three back to theirs.

"It's already time for homeroom. We'll interrogate the kid later."

"NO!"

"Kiba, stop the Italian-accented 'no's, damn it!"

"NOOOO!"

* * *

"All right! You guys are officially the oldest in this school! Congratulations!" The form teacher, Umino Iruka, exclaimed excitedly as he began his usual 'term-ly' speech. 

A hand shot up. "Umino-sensei, we're not the oldest; the teachers are."

"…Shino, good to see you again too. Moving on, you guys are the seniors amongst the rest of the _student body_ so I expect all of you to behave and be a role model to the underclassmen, is that understood?"

A few heads nodded.

Satisfied with this, Umino-sensei moved on. "All right. With that, it's nice to see full attendance… wait a minute, where's Uchiha? Is he still not in school yet?"

Hands from half the class shot up; some were even waving frantically.

"Uchiha-sama is practicing in the fields for the coming Inter-High tournament!"

"Sasuke-kun is wonderful!"

"Sasuke-kun! Kyaaaa!"

Suddenly, the classroom door slid open with a loud 'bang' and a tall lean boy with slightly spiked raven hair entered the classroom. The commotion was replaced by a tension-filled silence, as the boy made his way to his seat, before a wave of noises in different pitches, mostly high though, let loose.

Thus begins the new term for the class of 3-7 in Ha-Ou Private High. **(3)**

* * *

"Yes, move over there a little more. Okay, good. Stay there." 

"Next, give me a look of hunger and longing."

"Like this?"

"No, no… Hmm, pretend I'm the person you've been wanting to date for ages. Alright?"

"Okay."

"Right now, I'm all naked, waiting for you to pounce on me."

"Haha… okay. Like this?"

"Yes! Good, stay there."

An extremely handsome silver haired man posed as the photographer took a few more shots.

"Alright, we can rest now. Good work Nao-san." The photographer said as he handed a small towel to the model.

"Thank you, Hatake-sensei. It's an honor to be able to finally work with a renowned photographer like you."

"What are you saying, Nao-san? It should be the other way round; I never thought I'll be working with one of the top models in the region."

"Haha, thanks. But I really admired your works back then. It was partly because of you that I became a model, you know? Thought I might one day get to work with a professional like you. I didn't know you were this fun to work with, though; heard that Hatake-sensei was a very cool and a no-nonsense sort from many ladies."

"…You're talking about aged stuff, Nao-san. Well, I guess I tend to be a bit strict in the past but those were different occasions and projects. Besides, I've more or less quit photography. If Jiraiya jii-sama hasn't asked me to help, I probably won't be here." The taller man said as he rubbed the back of his neck and fiddled with his Leica. **(4)**

Nao-san looked at his colleague and frowned a little. "So it's true. I thought you were only on a hiatus. Why did you quit? You were so awesome. You were starting to gain fame in the other countries too…"

"Maa… for various reasons, I guess. But right now, I just want to concentrate on art and teach the subject, before I retire from all these entirely."

"Eh?" Nao-san dropped his towel. "You're gonna stop completely? But why?"

Kakashi only smiled.

* * *

"So spill!" Kiba yelled, as soon as the five of them reached the deserted rooftop. 

They had skipped physical education class as the four (two actually since Shino didn't really care after getting over the initial shock and Shikamaru just thought the whole thing was troublesome) could wait no longer and Naruto had been too spooked (by the killer beams and killing aura) to attend his favorite class in peace.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Of course I'll spill. But first, sit Kiba." Naruto smugly ordered as he leaned against the railing.

"Okay." Kiba smiled and obediently followed the command only to realize the implication and screamed, "Oi! I'm sitting because I want to sit not 'cause you told me to sit! Stop treating me like a dog."

Naruto snorted. "Of course I'll treat you like a dog. You want me to treat you like a cat? Fine. Here kitty, kitty. Want to play with this PET bottle?"

"You little…"

Shikamaru bopped the two bickering boys on their heads and scowled. "Enough. Naruto, stop baiting him; Kiba, stop getting baited. Tell us what's going on now."

The blue-eyed blonde's 'dead-fish' look returned and with a deep sigh, he launched into his story.

"Well, it all started with ero-jii getting sick. Then this perverted, suspicious guy called Hatake Kakashi appeared out of thin air and…"

Within 5 minutes of the story, the four boys have heard of how perverted, uncreative, scary, annoying, immoral, noisy, humorless the man called Hatake Kakashi is. Needless to say, by the end of the story (which Naruto ended with a "And now, I'm stuck with that immoral, useless, cheating, cheap-skate of a man for the rest of my life—! I've no more future! Ueeee—"), they were convinced that they have to somehow get their best friend out of this sticky situation; they would not allow a monster to touch the baby of the group!

Somewhere in a studio, a man carefully put down his precious camera before stepping a few steps away, hands cupping his (covered) nose and mouth. Then…

"Achoo!"

"Are you alright, Hatake-sensei?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm ok… …I think. Could you excuse me a little? Need to change my mask."

"Hm, sure."

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke has a secret. 

He wasn't as asexual as everyone thought he was. In fact, he has only one orientation. It was _Naruto-sexual_. Ever since the incident in first year, where he accidentally kissed the blonde when he was eating his curry flavored ramen, he had been stuck in the web of love. Thinking back, it was almost like what his distant, distant cousin told him about fate and destiny.

_:Flashback:_

"Today, we have a new transfer student. His name is Uchiha Sasuke. Uchiha-kun, would you like to do a self-introduction?" Umino-sensei happily chirped as he gently guide the brooding brunette to the front of the class.

"…Uchiha desu. Yoroshiku." **(5)**

The cold, clipped tone of the transfer student was so chilling; it seemed as if someone had buried the classroom with ice cubes, ice shavings and snow.

It was a completely different feeling for the girls in the class though. To them, spring is here.

Sasuke mentally smirked as he looked at the faces of those people he would have the displeasure of calling classmates when his obsidian eyes caught a pair of sparkling baby blue eyes, that were rapidly darkening at the attitude of the new student. Taking that as a challenge, he stared back at the boy. Even when Umino-sensei called his name and assigned him a seat, which happened to be right at the back, at the opposite corner from his challenger, he refused to back down from the staring contest. Just when he felt his eyes start to water, the blue-eyed blonde squeezed his eyes shut and stuck out his tongue at him before ignoring him for the rest of the morning.

'I won.' The Uchiha mentally smirked again when a ball of crumpled paper hit his head. On the off-white paper, an incredibly ugly handwriting and poor spelling wrote, _Bleah! I bet u thot u won! But I was juz givin u a handicap, u bastard. If u want a real challenge, meet me at the field after skool. — Uzumaki-sama._

After school, Sasuke had to give his infamous Level 2 glare before the girls scurried away. Two in particular, though, were pretty stubborn; he had to actually open his mouth to ask them to leave before they budged. What were their names again…? Something about a flower and a boar, these two would be troublesome for him in future. On a side note, Sasuke, who never had a talent in prediction, was surprisingly accurate; it was later proved, in the remaining of his first and second years, that those two were indeed trouble with a 'T' as they later put many professional stalkers to shame.

The blonde yelled the moment he showed his face at the field. "So you think you're so great! Let's have a ramen-eating contest!"

Sasuke blinked. "What? Excuse me, are you trying to bully me?"

"Ra-men-eat-ing-con-test! Dummy! And what the hell! I'm no bully, you idiot! It's a _challenge_! If you lose, you better have a better attitude in class!" The blonde smirked and folded his hands superiorly.

The taller boy rolled his eyes and began to make his way home. "This is a waste of my time."

"Hah! I understand your fear since you are facing I, the great Uzumaki-sama…"

"Bring it on, usuratonkachi."

"Teme, you're asking for it! Let's go to Ichiraku to settle this!"

The Uchiha blinked in apprehension. This was an incredible amount of ramen. And half of it were the spicy ones, which he hated.

'Why is there no tomato ramen? More than that, why the hell am I here? I must be stupid to play along with this idiot.' The brunette thought despairingly as he turned to look at his bully. The blonde's eyes were sparkling and there were sparkles and glitter all around him. 'Sigh. Guess I'll just get this over and done with.'

"Ready? Start!" Ichiraku's owner yelled as he brought down a flag (made by Naruto with an eco-friendly concept by using a chopstick and a paper napkin) and the two faced off.

Sasuke had never eaten so much ramen in his entire life. In fact, this would probably be the last time he ate ramen if he ever got through this challenge alive.

"All right! I'm gonna win by a bowl" His bully cried as he grabbed the last ramen — the curry-flavored one.

"Not so fast!" Sasuke yelled as he made the grab as well.

Then in slow motion, the blonde cried in horror as his hand missed the bowl by a few millimeters as Sasuke gripped it tightly and carried it to his side. Within the blink of an eye, Sasuke picked up his chopsticks, held the bundle of ramen firmly and slurped it all up before Naruto could do anything.

Frustrated, the blonde lurched at the brunette, only to slip from the spilled curry and land strategically on the brunette's face.

Milliseconds turned into seconds. Jaws (belonging to spectators) slowly dropped. Then, the mother-of-all-screams made its debut from the blonde's mouth before he dashed off with a significantly louder footstep; a 'thud-thud-thud' from the excess baggage (of ramen).

The boy, left behind by his bully, merely raised his fingers and touched his lips for a few moments. Then the effects from eating too much ramen at one time finally kicked in and he stumbled from his seat and made his way home with a pale face and sweat-soaked shirt.

The next day, both Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto never came to school.

_:End Flashback:_

Since then, his thoughts — and sometimes, dreams — have been plagued by the sometimes idiotic and always childish blonde. The frequency of his thoughts had since doubled when the blonde ignored/avoided him after the '_incident_', and triple-folded whenever he saw the blonde blushed.

'This cannot go on.' The Uchiha thought as he washed his hands in the bathroom. 'I've waited for two years. I can't wait any longer. This is already our last year together. I must make my move soon!'

"So… what are we gonna do about that beast?"

"Well, we can't let him touch Naruto, that's for sure."

'Hm? Those voices? Aren't they Naruto's gang?' Sasuke thought as he darted into one of the stalls like a ninja.

"But what can we do? It's not like we can stop the marriage. Can we?"

"Maybe we can. Right, Shikamaru?"

Obsidian eyes widen. 'MARRIAGE, they say!'

"Maa… I'll think of something later. But firstly, I think we should see for ourselves what Hatake Kakashi really is like before we make any plans. His name is vaguely familiar, though…"

"Naruto tends to exaggerate, after all. Hatake… I've seen that name before too. But can't really remember where I saw it."

"Well, if we can't do anything, I'll just send Akamaru to bite that guy's balls! Hahaha…"

"KIBA!" Three voices admonished as their voices slowly faded as the group made their way out of the bathroom.

Sasuke slowly made his way out of the bathroom stall. The words 'beast', 'Naruto', 'marriage' and 'Hatake Kakashi' were swirling around in his mind and he slowly made the link. "Naruto is going to marry a beast called Hatake Kakashi?! Not if I can help it!!" The raven haired boy snarled as he clenched his fist and slammed it against the door of the stall.

For the third time that day, the misunderstood scarecrow sneezed.

'Sigh. Maybe it's those new masks I wore yesterday? Reminder: must wash them again. With extra detergent and maybe, Dettol.'

* * *

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. 

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Long title, long flashback, major OCC-ness, bad language, OC, pathetic attempts at humor and shounen-ai.

Notes:

(1) 'Fufufufu' – evil laughter, or a cackle

(2) I read somewhere that miso was traditionally made in urns and buried underground so that the soy paste can ferment better

(3) 'Ha-Ou' – the 'Ha' means leaf and 'Ou' means king. So you get…

(4) Leica is a rather popular brand of cameras produced by a German company with the same name, and was the prototype for many camera companies like the early Canon models, Kardon, Reid, etc.

(5) It is the standard introductory speech you make when you first meet someone. However, in the case of Sasuke, it was a bit too concise and impolite.

A/N:

I'm really sorry for taking so long to update. But I was suffering (still am, actually) from my post wisdom-tooth-extraction-surgery (WTES). It's bad, really bad. :cries:

I had loads of fun writing the interaction between Naruto and his peers, especially Kiba! He's a very fun character to write. Shino, on the other hand, is a bit tough. Maybe that's why there aren't too many fics on him? Not sure if you had fun reading it but, I hope you did, anyway. :smiles: By the way, could you guess who Sasuke's distant, distant cousin is and who his two stalkers are? XD

As usual, R & R are welcome. You know you want to!


	5. STEP 5

It was a beautiful Sunday. At least, it should have been for one Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi until a Jiraiya called them out to arrange some kind of 'miai' **(1)** and to sort out the various dates for the various _joyous_ events. So there they were on that beautiful morning, sitting across each other, one of them with a slightly sleepy face while the other had a murderous look in his eyes.

"Hohoho, Naruto, Kakashi, the two of you really make a wonderful pair. -sigh- Now, I can rest in peace…" Jiraiya trailed off with a faraway look in his shimmering eyes.

Naruto, clad in a beautiful white and blue kimono with little red spirals, immediately interjected. "No! Jii-san, please don't say such inauspicious things! You're in good health now, aren't you?"

Jiraiya laughed and ruffled the boy's golden locks. "Of course, of course… I'm in the pink of health now. See, I can even read my books and nose-bleed without fainting. Ahahahaha…"

He pulled out a few of the more graphic series from the folds of his dark blue kimono and waved them around for good emphasis. Kakashi's eye (he was still wearing the mask) glittered for a bit before it shifted to Naruto's face. The blonde boy had immediately swiveled his head from Jiraiya to him, when the old man had pulled out his works, and was now glowering at him. That look seemed to promise some form of punishment and embarrassment for him somehow (Kakashi has learned well from the two experiences he had from the hospital), so he quickly turned his eye to his hands resting on his lap.

It was okay to retreat and act all meek _first_. After all, there was no way he would let the damn kid embarrass him today; his reputation has been soiled enough. There was also absolutely no way he would let the kid embarrass him in any more establishments; because of the brat, he didn't dare step into that hospital anymore, at least not without a hooded cloak and a gigantic 7-11 bag over his head. Once they were married, though, he will show the boy who the MAN is... Once they were married. At that thought, Kakashi gave a mental cackle and his eyes sparkled evilly.

As Jiraiya began flipping through the pages of his 'choice of the day', a busty and seemingly young (but in all actuality, was a _baa-san_) blonde lady in a red kimono, sitting beside him, resisted the insane urge to punch the living daylights out of the perverted old man.

"_O-ya_? What's wrong, Tsunade-chan? You're shaking like a leaf…" Jiraiya queried as little question marks popped around his head while his nose trailed a little red liquid.

Glad for a distraction from his fiancé's _glare of doom_, Kakashi quickly looked up from his hands and turned to the elder lady. "Tsunade baa-sama, are you feeling cold? The air-conditioning is quite strong in this place. Please wait a moment while I get a jacket for you." Kakashi bowed politely and left the room, before anyone could protest.

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**Step V: Secret Garden **

A few silent seconds passed after the departure of Kakashi before Jiraiya's face split into a leer and he cackled (while still holding the book too).

"Fufufu… Naruto, aren't you glad that you're now married to Kakashi? Look at him, such a fine gentleman…and considerate too." The old man pointed out as his leer slowly smoothed into a proud and assured smile.

The blonde boy, who had been steaming since he saw his fiancé's eye shining when he saw the adult material, clenched his teeth and glared at his jii-san. "We are NOT married. Just engaged… It's different! Besides, Jii-san, I've been thinking about some things…" Naruto's face darkened.

"Ohohoho, don't worry too much, Naru-chan." Jiraiya, oblivious to his charge's mood, reverted back to his old name-calling of the boy and patted the boy's shoulder knowingly.

Turning back to his book, he offered some comfort in what he thought was a sagely and wise voice. "This engagement is almost like a marriage. I'll let the two of you go for a honeymoon and stay together. I know you want to finish high school first before making things official. Hohoho, I know you can't wait. Kakashi is after all a very sought-after man so I can understand your anxiousness… …Ohhh, this part is good."

The two blondes in the room resisted the insane urge to punch the living daylights out of the perverted old man.

Naruto's face turned a furious scarlet, before he sat up abruptly, and banged his fists on the low table. "Th-that's not wh-what I meant!"

"Ho…? It's not?" The renowned author (and pervert) looked up from his book.

"It's not! I wasn't referring to that…uh, I mean, Hatake-san and me at all!" The blonde huffed as he resumed the kneeling position on the tatami. "What I want to know, however, is how speedy your recovery is. It's good that you're recovering so fast, though you seemed on the brink o-of uhm, de-dea-death not too long ago. But I'm worried that you might have relapses again…Ne, Tsunade baa-san, will he?"

Looking at the boy's worried look, the two seniors felt various degrees of guilt stabbing them.

'But this is for the best.' Jiraiya thought as his brain wracked for some sort of explanation for his grandson. Coming up with none, he turned his eyes to the woman next to him and gulped.

Tsunade was frowning. But that's almost a constant since she was always frowning at him, half the time. This time, though, she was frowning and having that moral, conflicted and guilty countenance at the same time. This rang the alarms in Jiraiya's head. 'Oh no, Tsunade-chan, don't! Not when I'm so close!!'

Thus, just as the blonde lady opened her lips, she suddenly found a firmer pair crushed against hers.

Naruto's jaw dropped; Tsunade's eyes popped out of their sockets; Jiraiya smiled in his usual perverted way and Time came to a standstill. Until the sliding door opened and Kakashi popped in, that is. "Here, Tsunade baa-sama... …_A-ra_?"

Then, all hell broke loose.

* * *

"You old pervert! How _dare_ you! The _nerve_ of… You! Argh!!" Tsunade seethed as she continued to kick the fallen body of Jiraiya. The poor man's head was already swollen with rows of steaming bumps; some were even 3-bumps-tall (!!), and his nose was bleeding more than usual. His body was also showing various scratches and bruises that were turning blue and black already. Despite the heavy damage, his face was still sporting a goofy grin and a slight blush.

This infuriated the blonde woman further.

"You take that stupid smile off your face right now! Stupid pervert… I ought to do this…" She screamed as she pinched his cheeks… and twisted.

"ITAI!!!" The old man screamed and flailed his arms. "AH! Somebody, help this poor old man… …I might die this time. Help! Naruto! Kakashi!!"

Even though Jiraiya was crying out from the bottom of his heart for help, it was rather unfortunate the younger couple were oblivious. Naruto's jaw was wide open and his blue eyes were all rounded and unseeing (most probably from the mental trauma of seeing the two senior citizens kiss, and so suddenly too…) while Kakashi was trying his best not to laugh at the sight of the abused old man and the facial expression of his nightmare. It was a very taxing activity to keep in your laughter; it requires a lot of muscle control and mental concentration, hence Kakashi remained on the sidelines. Another reason might also be because he didn't want to incur Tsunade's wrath. His head had hurt really badly from that iron fist he received at the hospital. But then Jiraiya jii-sama had been his idol since he accidentally came across a series called _Icha Icha Paradise_ when he was still a hormonal young man.

'Haaa… guess I should break this up. It was good entertainment though…' The silver haired man thought as he proceeded to gently shake his fiancé's shoulders. "Naruto. Oi, Naruto! Tsunade baa-sama is killing Jiraiya jii-sama."

"Huh? Baa-san and jii-san… I saw them kiss. Huh… was that a dream?" The boy muttered, still very disoriented and shaken with various feelings. "I didn't know… they were together? Hmm, what did you say just now?"

A loud scream ensued.

* * *

"That was interesting. Too bad Jiraiya jii-sama sprained his back, but Tsunade baa-sama will probably fix him up once she cools down. Haaa… In the end, we still have not decided on the wedding date." Kakashi said as he stepped out of the Japanese restaurant, Naruto in tow.

"Uhn…"

"?" Kakashi looked at the blonde next to him. Somehow, Naruto seemed a little sad and confused.

"Ne, _ero-otoko_, are you sure you want to marry me?"

Disregarding the rude address, Kakashi merely raised a brow. "Why?"

"Hmm, well, you don't know much about me, do you? Besides, I'm sure you have someone you like. Heard from jii-san you are very uh, sought-after…" Naruto's face turned a little pink at that.

"Oh. So you're jealous?"

The blonde head shot up. "No! Of course not! Wh-what the hell! I'm just wondering whether you're okay with this! Stop twisting my words, you!"

The older man chuckled as the boy's face turned redder. "Well, I don't really mind. Besides, I don't have anyone I like right now."

Blue eyes turned curious. "Ehhhh?! That's surprising… I thought you'll be dating different people every week or something."

"Hmm? You think so? Oi, do I really look so bad in your eyes?" The scarecrow asked jokingly.

"Humph! You are an uncreative flirt and a pervert after all. You seem like the type a lot of women like too, you know, the host type. So I thought you must have a lot of uh, you know, lovers or something like that."

'Host type, he says' Kakashi sweat-dropped as the image of him wearing a sexy suit, with a glittering smile on his face and a large bouquet of roses in his hand, kissed the hand of a 'female-fied' version of Naruto, with two long ponytails, in a low cut gown. Then a thought struck him. He stopped walking suddenly and turned to the boy with a serious face. "Do you have someone like that?"

"Eh?"

"Someone you like. Do you have someone like that?"

The whiskered cheeks heated up again. "O-of course not! I don't really have someone like that…"

"Don't lie to me, brat." The single eye narrowed.

"I'm not! I uhm, well, the girls I know just haven't seen my handsomeness yet, so uhm…"

Kakashi looked into those entrancing blue eyes for a little while more before he turned away. "… …that's good then."

"Eh? What did you just say?"

"Hmm? Did I say something?"

"You didn't? I thought I heard something… Hmm… Hey, you said you don't have someone you like right now… so that means you do have someone you like before?!"

"Hmm… that's a secret!" The older man's visible eye crinkled happily.

"Tell me, tell me!"

"Hmm… should I?"

Naruto pouted and folded his arms. "You should! I've the right to know after all!"

Kakashi pondered a little while then he shook his head. "Hmm… Nah…"

"Come on, tell me!"

"Don't wanna!"

As the two continued bantering, they were oblivious to the five pair of eyes that had witnessed the entire event.

* * *

"Uwah! Did you see that guy? He really looks suspicious! Whoever wears a mask to cover ¾ of their face and what's with all the bandages under that kimono?" Kiba cried the moment the group of four retreated from the spying mission to form a plan.

Chouji bit into his chocolate bar and nodded frantically. "Could he be a mummy or have some disease? Almost all his entire body was covered!"

Shino just frowned and kept his usual silence.

"Hmm, but he doesn't seem as bad as what I had imagined from Naruto's story. In fact, they seem to get along quite alright." Shikamaru muttered as he stifled a yawn. "There's not much we can do now so let's just go home. I'm so tired… This is super troublesome." He was still pissed that the three of them had invaded his bedroom so early in the morning for that troublesome activity. It was the weekends, damn it! The only days where he could sleep till the sun rose and set and his mum wouldn't care. Well, she would be worried but at least, she won't be nagging about him missing school and his failing grades and all that school-related nonsense parents like to nag their kids about.

"Hatake Kakashi. Doesn't he look familiar, Shikamaru?" Shino asked after a few minutes of deep thought.

"Huh? No impression…" The boy renowned for his laziness yawned again and he did a small stretch. "Why? Seen him before, Shino?"

"Aa. Remember we went for the talk about visual arts? I think he was one of the guest speakers."

That woke Shikamaru up. "Oh… …OH! Crap! He's _that_ Hatake Kakashi!?!"

"What? What? What? What are you guys talking about?" Kiba asked, deeply confused by the exchange. Chouji continued munching then he suddenly stopped as realization dawn on him now that he recalled the event his best friend and Shino had been referring to.

"That talk about visual arts, Kiba! Remember? The one that we were crazy about 3 years ago? Before the four of us met Naruto? The one that Shino had to stand in line for hours in order to get the tickets? That one where we got kicked out because you thought it was a good idea to infuse arts into Akamaru as well?" Shikamaru reminded.

"Uh, what about it?" Kiba still looked lost.

"I knew it! You just went there to look at all those models, didn't you?!"

"Eh? Wh-what! Of course not! I was really deeply interested in the arts!!"

"Then you would have remembered that photographer as well!!"

"So what is it about that photographer?!" …Nope, he still looked completely and utterly lost.

"It's _the_ Hatake Kakashi! Top photographer in Fire Country for 5 consecutive years and the only one who won the Buritzer **(2)** twice! The guy that we had been idolizing for a bit before we dropped arts and lost interest because of that stupid Mizuki-sensei! The guy who is now Naruto's fiancé! The guy who you were contemplating to get Akamaru to bite his balls off!"

"…Oh. _Oh_." With that, Kiba finally saw the light.

* * *

'Hmm so that's Hatake Kakashi.' Sasuke thought as he continued to tail the bickering couple (who were now arguing about which Ultra-man was cooler). 'Hmm, they didn't mention that the beast was an old man. Furthermore, he has bad fashion sense and looks too suspicious. Hn. He's not a competition for me at all.' The raven haired boy smirked as he camouflaged himself behind a pot of palm tree and continued to eavesdrop on the blonde and silver-haired man.

"Jii-san! Give us two _miso_ _ramen_!" Naruto happily cried, taking a little pause from his argument on why 'Ultra-man Tiga is _da_ bomb!' while Kakashi looked at the menu.

"I don't want ramen." Kakashi said after looking at the selection of noodles (they were in a noodle house) "Jii-san, please change the order to one _miso ramen_ and one _kitsune udon_."

Naruto glared at his older companion then turned to the noodle vendor. "Ignore him, Jii-san! Two miso ramen please!!" He chirped as he gave his best dazzling smile to the friendly owner of the noodle house.

Kakashi frowned. "Oi, I already said I don't want ramen."

"Shush! Ramen is heaven. I'm showing you heaven now."

"Ho… In that case, are you treating me as well?" Kakashi drawled. "Then it doesn't matter if it's _ramen_ or _udon_ for me."

"Don't be a cheapskate!" Naruto yelled as he tried to pinch Kakashi's ear. "Besides, if you don't want ramen, you can let me eat two _miso ramen_ and order your one _kitsune udon_! Besides, you're working now, aren't you? It's a rule that working people should treat!"

"Why must you eat two bowls? We just ate with Jiraiya jii-sama and Tsunade baa-sama this morning."

"I'm a growing boy! Of course I have to eat more!"

"Uwah! Look at this!" Kakashi cried as he pinched Naruto's cheek and belly. "Look! It's getting bigger!"

"It's not, you pervert! Stop touching me!"

A tentative voice called out. "Ano…?"

"It is! Look! It's getting bigger and bigger… Uwah! It's totally expanding!"

"Mou, stop touching me, I said!"

The tentative voice turned a tad desperate. "Excuse me…?"

"Oi, oi, oi, are you really a boy? How can you be all soft here and there?"

"Ah! Wh-where are you touching?"

The owner of the voice, who coincidentally happened to also own the noodle house, reached his patience. "EXCUSE ME CUSTOMERS!"

A pair of baby-blue eyes and one obsidian eye **(3)** stared wide-eyed at the previously friendly vendor and blinked. "Uh, yes…?"

"CAN YOU PLEASE TAKE YOUR COUPLE QUARREL OUTSIDE? YOU'RE DISTURBING THE OTHER CUSTOMERS!"

Looking around, the duo noticed almost everyone in the establishment staring at them; some were frowning and shaking their heads while the rest just looked curious.

'Shit. He could embarrass me this way as well. This brat is just incredible.' Kakashi thought as he shot up from his seat, grabbed the blonde's hand, bowed and dashed out of the noodle house. His arm was probably gonna be all black and blue from the way his captive was attacking him.

"Why did you drag me out? I wanna eat ramen! Oi! Did you hear me? I wanna eat ramen!" His captive whined.

"We don't have to eat here. I'll take you to my usual place."

"Where? Your _usual place_ better have ramen there…"

"Yes, yes. Heard of Ichiraku? They have killer-ramen there and more flavors than that one. That's the only place I'll eat ramen. Come on."

"Ichi… Did you say ICHIRAKU!! Wai!! I **LOVE** that place! I haven't been there for soooo long I miss it so much! Hahaha, come on, walk faster!" Naruto happily cried as he threw his hands in the air and started running ahead of the older man, eliciting a few chuckles from him. Because of his happiness (which included a bit of twirling and smiling at the _ero-otoko_ for once), the blonde failed to see a large trolley cart rolling towards him from behind.

* * *

"Naruto!" Kakashi cried as he pulled the blonde into his embrace hard so that the momentum from the boy's fall could throw them out of harm's way, and wrapped his arms around him protectively as they fell. The moment the trolley cart rolled past them, Kakashi pulled the blonde out of his embrace and quickly checked him for injuries. "You okay? Hurt anywhere? Shit! That scared the hell out of me! I thought you were gonna get crushed by that damn thing…" The silver haired man breathed a sigh of relief then scowled at the direction from where the trolley came from. A burly man ran towards them, bowed a bit and apologized quickly before dashing off again after the amok trolley (that seemed to be heading towards a potted palm tree outside that noodle house; the same potted palm tree that was camouflaging one particular classmate of Naruto).

"Ch! Damn careless people… I'll give him a piece of my mind if that trolley wasn't running around. Hey, you alright?" Kakashi asked as he stood and brushed his kimono from the dirt and dust. The blonde remained seated on the dusty pathway. After getting over the initial shock, many thoughts were running through his usually Pentium II-powered brain, boosting it to a Pentium IV-powered one. As he looked at the man, whom he thought was a flirty, immoral pervert with suspicious interests, peering concernedly at him, and helping him to stand, his whole perception of his fiancé suddenly shifted.

'If he didn't save me that way, I would have ended up hurt anyway…' His higher-powered brain thought as his eyes caught a slight cut on the man's forehead and the dirt on the back of the man's gray kimono. '…If he had pushed me to the other side of the path, I'll fall and he'll probably fall atop me and crush me… '

"Oi, Naruto. Are you hurt anywhere? That fall didn't hurt your ability to talk, did it? Don't tell me you're scared?" The silver haired man joked. Inwardly though, he was actually getting a bit worried; he expected Naruto to either scream at him or the vendor, or to make a lot of noise like he usually did but the blonde was being uncharacteristically quiet. 'And why is he looking so sad? Did the fall hurt him just now? I made sure he fell on me so that he won't get any damage, though… Could he be hurt when I rolled us away from the trolley's path? But he's not bleeding anywhere…'

A soft voice interrupted his pondering. "…Let's go back."

"Hm? Don't you wanna eat ramen?"

"...You're bleeding." The blonde uttered as he took a small frog-printed handkerchief and pressed it the man's cut.

"Ah, this? Its peanuts… I've had worse injuries."

"…But you're hurting elsewhere too right? I fell on you after all…" The blonde mumbled the last few words as he looked away. "Let's just go back. I'll bandage your injuries."

The silver haired man stopped walking and turned to the boy with widen eyes; he looked as if someone had told him that the sun had started rising in the west and pigs could now climb trees. Kakashi never expected him to be perceptive enough to know that he had sustained other injuries. Naruto blushed and with a 'hurry up' walked ahead of his fiancé, thus missing the affectionate look the man threw at him.

'Naruto… …if only you remembered.' The silver-haired man thought sadly.

When he caught up, Naruto turned and smiled cheekily at him. "...Hey… you still owe me ramen okay?"

"Eh?" The scarecrow blinked. "Shouldn't you treat me? I'm your savior after all…"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Didn't I tell you just now? It is a rule that working people should pay."

"Hmm, but rules are meant to be broken. Besides, it is a written _law_ that saviors should be worshipped… and treated to ramen."

"…You're such a cheapskate!"

"And you're such a brat!"

"I'm no brat, you pervert…"

The couple continued their usual squabble, unaware of the little seeds of affection planted in the deepest of deepest ends of their hearts, awaiting the time to blossom.

* * *

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei.

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Major OCC-ness, bad language, OC, pathetic attempts at humor and shounen-ai.

Notes:

(1) 'miai' – arranged marriage, but I was referring more to the getting-to-know-each-other process that often occurs in miai. Not sure if I pointed it out, but Naruto doesn't seem to know much about Kakashi. (But does the same apply for Kakashi?)

(2) Buritzer – Uh, I came up with that. It's actually the equivalent of the **P**u**l**itzer.

(3) Eh, I think Kakashi's original eye is obsidian in color, right? Actually, if anyone knows, please tell me… I'm still unsure. (--)"

A/N:

Thanks a lot for all the gorgeous reviews. They were all very encouraging. I realized that some readers do not actually like the mixture of English and Japanese in the same sentence but that can't be helped sometimes. There are just some phrases in Japanese that cannot be written/translated to English, and give that same impact (especially some of the sounds and phrases that the characters like to use, '-ttebayo' for one). However, I'll try to minimize that. :smiles:

The plot thickens! What does Kakashi want Naruto to remember? Will Naruto ever get Kakashi to treat him ramen at Ichiraku? What are the fantastic four planning to do to Kakashi? Are they even planning to do anything at all? And what eventually happens to Sasuke? Did he get hit by the trolley and died? All these and more in the next installment of FIRST LOVE!

As usual, please R & R!


	6. STEP 6 N Omake

"So with that, let's now talk about where we'll go for our cross-cultural exchange outing at the end of this month!" Umino Iruka happily cried as he waved a few brochures around. He was always exceptionally happy during this period of time because they could go anywhere and he didn't have to fork out a single cent. The rich parents of these rich brats would cover the costs of everything. Sigh. That's what he loves about private high schools (other than the joy of telling off rich people in their faces) — free holidays to exotic places.

"Well, last year's graduating class had gone to England. So maybe this year, we could go to America? What do you guys think?" His eyes sparkled as he looked at the brochures; pictures of _Mickey Mouse and Friends_ staring back at him cheerily (he was looking at the Anaheim, California coverage). He was totally oblivious to the bored expressions on his students' faces.

The class representative (rep) immediately raised his hand. "Umino-sensei, I think it's a brilliant idea! But most of us have already gone to America and England many times. Not to mention, most of us has probably gone to other places, like Europe and Asia, for holidays all our lives..."

The teacher's face immediately fell. 'Damn rich brats.' His mind raged as he tried vainly to put on a smile to hide his disappointment. "Ah, is that so…? Then where do you guys wanna go?"

Seeing the barely-concealed despondent look on his teacher's face, Shino raised his hand to inject his two-cents. "Sensei, the 'in' thing to do now is to visit other parts of our own country for cultural exchange."

"Oh yeah, that's right! We could visit the other states **(1)**; the 'Water Country' has amazing waterfalls and scenery and the water is delicious. Oh, and 'Earth Country' has the weirdest rock formations and weird people. We can visit 'Wind Country' too. Ah, speaking of 'Wind Country', ne Naruto, is Gaara still being a depressed, angst-ridden bastard prowling in the alleys of the Sand Village?" Kiba tattled on excitedly as different images from the brochures he plucked shot through his mind. 'Uwah! They (the girls) have the most beautiful faces in Water Country! The figures are good in the Wind Country and they have the skimpiest clothes! Wah, so many exotic ones in Earth Country! Ah, this is heaven!' He thought blissfully.

"Naruto?" Kiba stopped flipping the brochures when he caught the blonde looking outside the window, staring dazedly at the fluffy clouds.

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**Step VI: Class Trip to…? Kiss!? Ramen! Barbecue! And what is this? …One-sided feelings!? **

"Oi! Stop acting like Shikamaru. You can't pull off that 'free of troubles, I'm drifting' look like he does." The taller boy commented as he jerked his thumb to the subject he was referring to. Aforementioned boy was staring at the clouds with his head resting on his hand, a completely relaxed expression on his face.

This made the blonde scowl. "I'm not trying to pull off _that_ look. I'm just thinking…"

"Eh? This must be a miracle! Naru-chan is _thinking_!!" The canine-maniac cackled. "So what are you _thinking_ of?" He waggled his brows for effect.

Strangely, the blonde blushed. "N-none of your business! Just leave me alone!" The blonde turned to look out the window again.

"Ch! Naru-chan is so moody these days… Haaa… where is our cute and lovely Naru-chan from before?" Kiba sighed and did a dramatic pose, complete with sparkly tear-filled eyes, flower, sparkles and bubbles, which were all promptly ignored by the shorter boy. "_Otou-chan_! Our Naru-chan has changed!" Kiba dived to Shino's table (which was just next to him) and shed a few crocodile tears.

Shino just pushed his metallic blue shades (he was in a blue mood today) further up his nose. "Kiba, Umino-sensei is going to scream at us any minute now."

True to the boy's prediction, the form teacher was about to open his mouth to shoot bullets at their group when the door suddenly slid open and a tall brunette stepped in. No, more like staggered in.

"Uchiha-san! You're late! Why are you so…" The teacher's sentence trailed off as he took in the condition of the boy. "Uchiha-san… what happened?"

What happened, indeed. Why was Sasuke's right leg wrapped in bandages and his arm in a sling? Why were there bruises on his left cheek? Why was his hair more messy than usual? Why was he even in school with all these injuries? The reason was in the form of a blue-eyed blonde sitting by the side of the window… and his reason wasn't even paying any attention to him. This made Sasuke extremely sad and a tad angry. 'Naruto… isn't looking at me… Does that mean, he doesn't care about me? K'so! I should have been more careful in that mission… Now I look all pathetic in front of him… He probably won't care about me anymore after seeing this side of me… Haaa… Naruto…'

"Uchiha-san?"

"… …I got in an… accident." Was the stoic boy's reply as he slowly walked to his seat. Oblivious to the girls, who were already tearing up while some were openly weeping their hearts out, his mind was only preoccupied by his object of affection (and obsession) and he sighed sadly again.

His stalker number 1, Haruno Sakura, stood up and pounded her fists against the table. "Uchiha-sama! Who did this to you??"

Stalker number 2, Yamanaka Ino, stood up as well. "We'll crush that person for doing that to you, Uchiha-sama!"

Seeing the gangster-like aura radiating from the two girls (and subsequently from the rest of the girls), Iruka felt his teacher-senses tingling so despite the danger, he couldn't help but give a lecture on social responsibility and something about revenge being a vicious cycle for the rest of the period. This resulted in a hasty decision for the cross-cultural exchange program; in a vote of 5-0 (the 5 were upon Kiba's insistence, Naruto, Shikamaru, Shino, and Chouji, 0 because the rest of the class weren't interested in the whole thing in the first place while the girls just couldn't be bothered upon seeing their dearest Uchiha-sama all injured and hurting), it was decided that the class of 3-7 was going to 'Water Country'.

* * *

"Water Country! We are going to the Water Country! Nyahaha…" Kiba crowed as soon as the bell rang, dismissing the class for the day. 

Shino looked at the happy face of his friend and sighed. "You just want to go there to look at pretty girls."

Caught, Kiba stopped smiling. "E-eh? W-what are you talking about… Aha… there's no way I'm going there just to look at girls, is there? Ahaha…"

Chouji stopped munching on his fruit bar and shook his head. "No. It's very possible. Come to think of it, you've been asking us to go to the other countries for some time."

"Ahaha… that's cause I'm totally interested in our country's culture! If we, as the citizens of this country, are uninterested, then who would be, right? Ahaha…"

This explanation only made Shino and Chouji stare at him harder. Kiba was never known much for patriotism though he was loyal to his friends.

Just as they walked towards the side gate, Shikamaru caught a flash of silver-white along the main gate. **(2)** '_A-re_… Isn't that…?' Knowing that Naruto would raise questions if he told him that a certain man was here, he opted to do what anyone would do when they see someone strange.

"Uwah!" Shikamaru cried and pointed in the direction of the main gate. "That man looks suspicious!"

Before Naruto reacted, Kiba turned to where Shikamaru pointed and he blinked. "_O-ya_? Isn't that…" Shikamaru sweated and cursed at his stupidity; he forgot that Kiba tended to speak without much thought process. In that case, the group's spying mission the day before would be revealed! Shikamaru could only pray that someone would shut Kiba up before he revealed anymore. Fortunately, his prayer was answered and help came in the form of Shino and Chouji's feet.

"ITE!!!!!!!! What the hell!!!!! My feet!!!! What are you guys thinking?! K'SO! My feet are crushed now…" Kiba cradled his feet as he continued to dig his own grave. "Even if I'm _really_ going to Water Country to look at pretty girls, you guys don't have to do that!!"

"So you **ARE** really going there to look at pretty girls!!"

"No, no! I said, even **IF**!!! …W-why are you cracking your knuckles??!"

Ignoring the trio, Shikamaru turned his attention to the still slightly dazed blonde.

"Naruto, isn't that guy suspicious?"

The confused blonde looked to where Shikamaru was pointing and gasped. With an 'I suddenly remember I've something to do… See you guys tomorrow', he stormed towards the main gate like a wayward tornado, pulled an unsuspecting man (who was unsuspecting because he was too engrossed in the latest installment of his favorite series, Icha Icha Honey) by his ear and dashed off.

'Naruto… be happy.' Shikamaru wished his blonde friend all the best as he stared at the retreating forms of his friend and his fiancé. Then he turned back to the fighting trio — well, Shino and Chouji were actually beating Kiba to a pulp while yelling, "You always take the pretty ones behind our backs!" while Kiba fought back and replied, "I can't help it if the pretty ones like me more!" — and sighed. 'This is troublesome.'

* * *

"ITE! Why did you pull my ear?" Kakashi cried the moment Naruto let go of him. The scarecrow touched his red and sore appendage and winced. "Ah-ah, this ear is gonna be longer than the other ear already…" 

Naruto merely folded his arms and huffed. "You shouldn't be reading adult materials outside a school! In the first place, what were you doing there?"

Kakashi scratched his head then his visible eye crinkled happily. "Ah, I came to see you." ::hearts::

"Eh?! W-why d-do you s-suddenly want to s-see me?" The blonde stuttered as he looked down at his feet. For some reason, his spiral-printed sneakers seemed very interesting today, and the weather seems to be really warm too. Otherwise, why would his cheeks feel warm?

"Ho… You forgot about it? I'm sad." The scarecrow put on a puppy-face, which didn't really have much effect since ¾ of his face was covered up. But that one visible eye was swelling with tears and going all sparkly and bubbly, making Naruto feel a bit guilty. He really couldn't remember anything, though.

'What in the world is this pervert talking about? Did I ask him to wait for me outside my school? What's the 'it' that I forgot?' The boy thought as he bit his lips. Cold sweat ran down his back as Kakashi's eye turned more wobbly.

"You really don't remember?"

"Uh… no…"

"I see, I see. Then it's okay. Since you don't remember that I've to treat you to Ichiraku, I guess I'll go visit the bookstore now. Jya!" The older man chirped happily as he turned to walk away.

Naruto looked thunderstruck a bit before he regained his senses and ran after the escaping man. "Come back!! I totally remember now!! Get back here!! _KORA_!!" And in his haste to catch up to his source of free lunch, Naruto neglected the popular saying, 'Watch where you are going' and tripped over a stone before screaming and following the law of gravity, face-first. Kakashi, who had been surprised by the rather shrill and girlish scream, happened to turn around just as Naruto tripped and before he realized it, the blonde's lips were already on his (covered) ones.

'Shit! The kid is gonna kill me!!' The scarecrow thought knowingly as he closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. When nothing happened after the count of 3, he slowly opened his eye. To his surprise, the blonde was just staring at him, two red spots on his whiskered cheeks. "Oi brat, it… it isn't my fault."

"…Uhn."

"Uh… …uh, aren't you gonna hit me or something?"

"…Do you want me too?"

"NO! Uh, I mean, of course not. Why should I get beaten when it's not my fault… right?"

"…Uhn."

"Uh… …come on, I'll treat you to ramen… Don't cry like a girl okay?" The man said teasingly as he helped the smaller boy up.

Ignoring the jab at his masculinity, the blonde merely responded softly as he followed the taller man to his favorite spot. "Uhn…" After a while, he spoke up again. "Hey, you… uhm, have you ever kissed anyone before?"

At this, Kakashi raised a brow. "Of course… What do you think I am?"

"Oh… Then uhm, how many people have you kissed before?" The boy asked shyly.

"Oi, oi, are you collecting statistics? Why the hell do you wanna know such stuff?"

"I…I'm just curious… Ah! I know! It must be because you only kissed one person that's why you're so reluctant to tell right? Hehehe…"

Kakashi merely snorted and took out his favorite book. "Hn! The number of people I've kissed is more than the number of years you've lived! You can almost call me… _Casanova_…"

Even though it was probably meant to be a joke, Naruto still felt something in his chest jolt painfully. "… …"

Kakashi stopped walking when he noticed his companion standing rooted to the ground. "Hm? What's wrong??"

"…I-I knew it! You're a stupid pervert after all!"

"Oi! Stop calling me a pervert, damn it! And in a public place too… Ah, in fact, don't call me that anywhere anymore."

"Pervert! Pervert! Pervert! Bleh — !" The younger boy stuck out his tongue and ran ahead of the man, ignoring the calls of the older man and left the strange and confusing feelings in his chest. One day, he will find out why the thought of Kakashi kissing so many others made him feel so bad. But for now… For now, he was going to eat a hole out of that man's pocket!

* * *

"Alright, now I'll try the new Oriental flavor. _Jii-san_, two Oriental ramen please!" Naruto happily ordered as he stacked his empty bowl up, bringing the total count to 8 bowls. So far, he had eaten the _miso_, curry, seafood, and chicken ones. For some odd reason, only _Ichiraku_'s ramen can make him eat so many bowls in one sitting; he has never exceeded 7 bowls in other ramen stands. Combine this factor together with the goal of making his elder companion broke, his appetite only increased further. 

Kakashi knew that Naruto was a rabid ramen fan. But this was just too much… How can anyone so small eat so much? Where did all the food go?

"_Hoi_, two Oriental ramen."

"Wai! _Sankyuu_!! _Itadakimasu_!!" **(3)** Naruto cried as he snapped his chopsticks and stirred the broth.

Ichiraku-san smiled at the boy's antics then turned to the silver-haired man staring at the boy. "_Nii-san_, do you want any other orders?"

Snapped out of his thoughts of the blonde's incredible appetite, Kakashi smiled at Ichiraku-san and answered, "Well, I want one more order of miso and eggplant ramen and the barbecued beef. Hmm, some sake would be nice along with it. Ah, the _Sayuri_ sake would be good."

'Might as well eat instead of looking at the kid staff himself with more ramen…' The older man thought as he turned back to look at Naruto. The boy was wolfing down ramen like no tomorrow. "Oi brat, you're gonna get indigestion at the rate you're going…"

Naruto stopped mid-chew, put down his bowl and chopstick, stick out his tongue (and simultaneously showing the uh, contents to gross the older man out) then resumed swallowing and engulfing his beloved food again. Indigestion has never happened to him before, and would never happen to him now… At least that was what he thought as he continued on his second bowl happily.

"Ahh… that was good, that was good. _Jii-san_, two beef ramen please!"

While waiting for their order, Kakashi decided to find out more about his fiancé's life. "So what happened in school today?"

The blonde frowned a bit as he tried to recall what happened in class. "Hmm, the usual… Getting a lecture from Iruka-sensei for spacing out in English class, getting scolded by Kurenai-sensei for forgetting to do my Math homework, getting scolded by Anko-sensei for forgetting my Biology homework, getting a lecture from Gai-sensei about youth and youth power, getting a lecture from Asuma-sensei about the importance of paying attention in Physics practical… Hmm…"

'_Kore yabai jyanai, oi!_'**(4)** Kakashi mentally sweated as he listened on. 'He just gets lectures and scolding for almost every subject… What's this about youth and youth power, though?'

"Oh, and during homeroom, we discussed where we would be going to for our cultural exchange program at the end of this month. Hmm… I think it was Water Country? Hmm, yeah, that's about it." The blonde concluded just as Ichiraku-san brought out their orders.

The silver-haired man blinked. "Uh, can you run the last few lines through me again?"

"I said jet ve ah goin' to Wata..."

"Swallow the damn noodles first!"

Naruto scowled but obeyed. "I said, we are going to Water Country for our exchange program."

"When again?"

"Mou, are you that old? Even _ero-jii's_ memory is better…" The boy grumbled as he stirred his broth. "End. Of. This. Month!"

"You can't go." Kakashi's onyx eye turned serious. "You definitely can't go."

* * *

"So you guys were beating the crap out of me because you _thought_ I was gonna say Hatake Kakashi's name?" 

Three heads nodded.

"AS IF I'D BELIEVE THAT!?"

"Well, it IS partly because of that…"

"Tsk, this is troublesome…"

"Look! My eye is already swollen! And my nose is still bleeding!! You guys didn't have to pummel me to the ground, damn it!!" Kiba cried as he tossed the tissue, that was previously stuck in his left nostril, on the table and scowled. Shikamaru and Chouji grimaced while Shino calmly took a pair of (disposable) chopsticks to pick up the offending piece of fiber before throwing both the chopsticks and the tissue away. "_Nee-san_, another pair of chopsticks please."

The four had gathered at _Yakiniku Q_ after the scuffle (because Chouji's stomach started rumbling which led to a chain of events) to discuss about their coming trip and their plans for the baby of the group.

"Mou, my mum is gonna bash me up for getting into scuffles again… Worse still, she'll ban me from playing with Akamaru!!" The canine-lover growled. "So what even if I'm going there to look at girls. It's not as if you guys don't have a share…"

"You better not run off with all the pretty ones this time." Shino warned, his shades sparkling menacingly.

Chouji nodded his head as he flipped the meat over the grill. "Yeah! And don't you leave us standing in the dust while you gathered them all and run like the other time!! At least introduce a couple…"

Shikamaru just shook his head and sighed.

"Ch! Fine, I will, I will! Can't help it if the girls find me cute right!!" Kiba stated as he continued to stuff tissue in his nose. (Contrary to his statement, he was looking extremely un-cute at the moment with a swollen eye, bruised cheek and tissue-stuffed nose, as well as a mop of unruly hair and slightly dusty coat.) "Oh yeah, what was up with Naruto anyway?"

"Eh? What do you mean? _Nee-san_, another serving of beef, pork and lamb!"

"Oi, Chouji! Leave some for us too… Oh, I mean, he was totally spacing out today and then sometimes, I see him blushing a bit when he looked at the trolley cart in PE… and he didn't even touch his ramen during lunch! He was just looking at the noodles and sighing… That's so weird! And during Physics practical, he was doodling these little stickman that kinda look like scarecrows and drawing little swirls around them. Then later, he'll stare hard at the drawing and start scratching them out! Is he possessed?"

"Hmmm… maybe it has something to do with Hatake Kakashi. He did appear in front of our school after all." Shino muttered as he calmly took a piece of tissue to wipe the chopsticks. Then he threw the tissue away and took out a new one to wipe his other utensils. Throwing that tissue away, he took out another one to clean his chopsticks again. The reason for this peculiar behavior is because Shino has a penchant for cleanliness, and is known to have a bit of an OCD issue sometimes. Finally satisfied, he began concentrating on flipping the meat(s).

The three stared transfixed as his actions before Shikamaru broke out of it and spoke up. "I don't think we should do anything to Hatake-san. It doesn't seem like Naruto hates him, anyway."

Kiba snorted and grabbed a piece of meat before Chouji polished it off. "What are you saying, Shikamaru… Didn't you see Naru-chan pulling that guy's ear and running with it while the man was yelling _"Ite! Hanase!!"_ **(5)** all the way?"

"They seem comfortable with each other." Shino remarked as he gathered all his grilled meats to his corner and quickly flipped them onto his plate before Chouji entered his territory and took his meats.

Kiba flipped the meats on his corner and dunked them all into the super spicy sauce that he loved (and knew Chouji hated) before responding. "You guys… How can you say they get along? They totally hated each other. Didn't we see them arguing yesterday?"

"…"

Chouji's countenance was a mix between someone banning him from eating and someone calling him the 'f' word (and it ends with 'at', in case you wondering). Taking pity on him, Shikamaru pushed his share to the plump boy as he rested his head on his hand. "It looked like couple-squabbles to me though. Well… I guess right now, we should give the man a chance before we plan anything against him. But if he does anything to hurt Naruto, I've already got a few plans that would make the man regret it."

"Ho… That's Shikamaru for ya!" Kiba cackled as he stole a couple of meat from Chouji, thus leading to a brawl again. Shino calmly continued eating while Shikamaru just shook his head and ordered more servings.

* * *

Naruto calmly swallowed his noodles before taking a deep breath. Then he slammed his chopsticks on the table. Loudly. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE TRYING TO TELL ME WHETHER I **CAN** OR **CANNOT** GO!?!" 

Kakashi winced at the direct impact from the sound-waves. Shaking his head a little to clear the ringing, he calmly took out his cell phone (it's the flip-kind) before flipping it open to show Naruto a certain message (SMS).

"What the hell is this?" Naruto squinted his eyes and leaned closer. "Hm? '_Kakashi, I've decided. Naruto n U shld sign e papers n go on a honeymoon by e end of this mth. Make sure 2 buy my new bk. I'll include sum techniques 4 e 2 of u. – Jii-san_' NANDA KORYAAAAAAAA!!! **(6)**"

"So you see, that's why I can't let you go for your class trip."

"Why didn't that _ero-jii-jii_ tell me!?"

"Maybe he was going to tell you when he gets out of the hospital tomorrow. I got this message this morning after all."

Naruto glared at him. "So you came to my school because you wanted to tell me this? Not because you wanted to… to treat me to ramen?" '_And to specially see me?_'

The silver-haired man smiled. "Well, both reasons actually. Since it's on the way and all..."

"On the way…? I …You! …I hate you!" With that, Naruto abruptly grabbed his backpack and ran, leaving an extremely puzzled Kakashi and noodle vendor in the dust.

* * *

The blonde ran blindly the moment he dashed out from Ichiraku. He didn't know why he said such a terrible thing to the other man; even if he disliked someone strongly, he had never used the 'hate' word on anyone before. Running till he came to a familiar bus-stop, he slowed down and sat on the empty seat before burying his face in his hands. 'Why did I do such a thing…? Saying such a terrible thing… and… and running out on ramen… …_A-re_? What's this?' 

Pulling his hands away from his face, he realized that his hands were wet. 'Where did this come from…?'

"Naruto." A familiar tenor voice called out behind him. "Why did you run away like that?"

The blonde bit his lips and refused to turn to look at the other man.

"Oi! Look at your elders when they're talking to you!!" The silver-haired man yelled, finally losing his cool. Grabbing the boy by the shoulders, he spun the blonde around only to look at him in surprise. "…You! Why are you crying…?"

'!! …I was crying…? So I was crying…' Naruto thought inwardly as he lashed out at the man holding him. "Who the fuck is crying!? Which part of 'I hate you' did you not understand, you lying pervert?!! Let me go!!"

Kakashi onyx eye softened, but he didn't let the blonde go. "So, those weren't tears?"

The blonde rubbed his eyes with the back of his palms and spat, "You bet they aren't! The roof here was leaking just now and I just happened to look up. 's all."

'Ho, so the roof decided to leak even though it wasn't raining and there aren't any holes… and the roof chose to leak on your face instead of this whole entire area too…? Does this kid take me for an idiot?!' The older man thought but chose to let that excuse go. "So, why did you run off like that? I got scolded by Ichiraku-san, ya know."

The blonde evaded the question and chose to smirk at the other man. "Humph! You totally deserve it!"

Letting the obvious evasion slide, Kakashi decided not to pursue the issue. "That's so harsh of you… Here. For you. Wanted to give to you just now, before you decided to run off." He whipped out a box, wrapped with a velvety paper that is dotted with little golden foxes, and put it on the boy's lap.

"?"

Opening it, Naruto found a smaller cell phone, which had similar designs as Kakashi's, and had a red spiral in the middle of the cover. "What's this for?"

"Contact."

"…So that you don't even have to come to my school anymore, huh?" The blonde bit out bitterly.

"No, not that. It's so that I can get you eas…" And then it suddenly struck Kakashi. 'So he's upset because he thought I went to his school to tell him about the message…!' The urge to hug the flushed ('cause he was caught crying) boy in front of him was suddenly overwhelming and so he succumbed to his urges.

"Y-Y-You… what the hell are you doing, you stupid pervert!" Naruto stuttered as the scarecrow suddenly hugged him. And so tightly too.

"…It's so that you can talk to me whenever you want; so that you can reach me when you want to see me. It's not like you're in middle school… I can't be outside your school waiting for you everyday, right?" Kakashi whispered.

"W-W-Who's gonna w-want to s-see you e-everyday…?"

'He's still stammering… How cute.' The man thought as he hugged the boy tighter. "I do. I want to see you everyday." Withdrawing the boy from his hold, Kakashi's visible eye crinkled happily as he wagged a finger. "So don't lose the phone okay?"

The blonde turned a deep red before nodding; he didn't trust his voice anymore.

"Come on, I'll take you home."

"Uhn."

Each immersed in their own thoughts, the walk home was a silent but companionable one.

* * *

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. 

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Major OCC-ness, a long chapter, bad language, revival of deceased characters, pathetic attempts at humor and fluff, as well as shounen-ai.

A/N:

(1) The states are actually the various countries in Naruto so the countries would basically make up one big land (lets call it _Chakra-kuni _XD) in this AU. Why did I choose to use countries instead of villages? Nyuh, that's 'cause it's less troublesome that way.

(2) The main gate and side gate are on the same side of the wall but at a very good distance apart. Similarly, the back gate and side gate are on the same wall but very, very far apart. The main gate would be near the school's quadrangle and courts (which are mainly assembly and fire drill purposes) while the side gate is nearer to the students' lockers. That's why students seldom stream in through the main gate but choose to use the side gate more. Just some information, in case you're wondering what the school structure is like.

For those interested in Japanese, the below is for you (it's just not 100 percent accurate though):

(3) "Wai! _Sankyuu_!! _Itadakimasu_!!" – "Wow! Thank you!! I'm digging in!!" This will feel weird if I typed it in English, won't it. ::sweats::

(4) 'Kore yabai jyanai, oi!' – "This is bad, isn't it?"

(5) "Ite! Hanase!!" – "Ow! Let go!!"

(6) 'Kakashi, I've decided. Naruto n U shld sign e papers n go on a honeymoon by e end of this mth. Make sure 2 buy my new bk. I'll include sum techniques 4 e 2 of u. – Jii-san' NANDA KORYAAAAAAAA!!!" – 'Kakashi, I've decided. Naruto and you should sign the papers and go on a honeymoon by the end of this month. Make sure to buy my new book. I'll include some techniques for the two of you – Jii-san' WHAT IS THIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSS!!!"

* * *

_**OMAKE**_

Naruto collapsed on his bed after the hot bath. Turning his head around, he stared at the cell phone by his pillow. Sitting up, he opened the cell phone (Kakashi had charged it for him beforehand) and sweat-dropped. His wallpaper was a familiar orange book cover with many red hearts. Then suddenly, the phone buzzed.

"Shit! So suddenly… what's this? '_You've got a new message_.' Hm? So soon? Haven't even shared my number yet… Let's see what it says… '_Hope you like the phone. Btw, it's a couple phone with mine. I thought that since your hands are smaller, I'll get you the female design…:smiley face: Well, have a good night. :hearts: — Kakashi'_ …Heh… so it's a cou… …!" The blonde threw the phone angrily on his pillow and he began fuming. "That pervert! Buying a couple phone and even choosing the female one for me!! How dare he!! I'll give him a piece of my mind for insulting my _masculinity_!! Ch!!"

He folded his arms and closed his eyes angrily. A few minutes passed. One blue eye peeked open at the innocent metallic blue phone, and the cute spiral on the centre stared innocently back at him. He slowly picked it up again and discreetly checked it for scratches. 'Hmm, but still… …it's nice…' He recalled what the older man said and blushed. 'Well, anyway, I finally have a cell phone again! Wai!!' He smiled and gently placed his phone by his side before switching off the lights and laying back down on the bed.

'Good night… …stupid… …Kakashi… Zzzzz…'

On the other side of town, a silver-haired man was busy guffawing after sending out a message to his little blonde fiancé. 'I bet he's fuming like mad now...' Laying flat on his bed, his thoughts went back to the day's events and his heart warmed considerably, bringing a small smile on his face. 'So he's pissed because he thought I went to school to transmit that message instead of seeing him…? Does that mean he actually likes me?" His smile became wider at that thought. Then the smile was suddenly replaced with a frown as he thought deeper. 'Hm, but he did say 'I hate you' with a serious face later on, and he's been calling me pervert… …Hm, am I thinking too much?'

He turned to look at the photo by his bed then he flipped open his cell phone and smiled at the wallpaper. It was a candid shot of a pouting Naruto in front of an ice cream stand. He had secretly taken the picture when they passed by the store just now. The blonde looked too cute when he was deciding which flavors to choose for his customized _Special Uzumaki Banana Split _and Kakashi just couldn't resist his tingling photographer's senses. 'Oh well… I'll just have to work harder if he hates me, right?'

With that thought, Kakashi smiled and gently placed the phone by his side before switching off the lights and laying back down on the bed. 'Good night, my dearest Naruto…'

* * *

Author's Corner: 

_Hoi_! Thanks for the awesome reviews::bounces excitedly:: Because this is one of the milestones in the story, this author note is especially long.

I'm really, really happy when I saw the number of reviews and alerts this story has. To be honest, I never really expected much (or any, actually) support in the first place. But now, I'm really glad I started on this fic. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, especially if you've reviewed for many, many chapters. I'm very motivated by your constant encouragement and support! Thanks a lot!!

Up till here, some readers might be confused as to why some characters behave so strangely and so out of character for their age. I hope to portray some of their in-character traits sometime later on in the fic, so do be patient with me. On a side note, if you're wondering why Naruto did not have a cell phone/mobile phone/hand phone even though he's already 18 years old, that's because he had previously lost a couple, three of them actually, in a very short span of time and Jiraiya had been too pissed to buy him a new one. Don't know why, but when I think of clumsiness, I'll straight away think of forgetfulness/carelessness, so that's almost the core of Naruto's personality in this fic. He also appears rather childish and slow to his feelings — though he can be quite mature and perceptive at (very infrequent) times — because he's very 'baby-ed' by the people surrounding him. Well, at least, I hope you had gotten that kind of 'feel' from reading. If you didn't, I guess I still need to work very hard at writing better. ::sweats:: It was also very fun writing about Naruto's four pals, especially Kiba and Shino. I feel that these two are rather underdeveloped characters in the field of fan-fiction so expect more from them!

Next up! The field trip to Water Country! Will Naruto be joining the class? Or will he join Kakashi on their honeymoon? Find out on the next episode of FIRST LOVE!

As usual, please R & R! …By the way, is the name of the noodle vendor really Ichiraku? (--)"


	7. STEP 6½

Four people stood in the car park in front of an expensive-looking traditional Japanese restaurant. They were facing each other while the spring breeze blew, rustling their hair.

Two had spiky silver hair and towered over the other duo; one of them had long white-blonde hair that was done in an elegant bun while the last had soft yet unruly blonde hair. The elder silver-haired man had donned a formal black kimono while his wife beside him had a pale purple one and both looked extremely stern. The younger silver-haired male was wearing a navy blue kimono while beside him the blonde was decked in a casual outfit of a T-shirt and ripped jeans.

Beads of sweat accumulated on the blonde's temple and he struggled not to gulp while the man beside him smiled serenely.

As they took in the sight of the blonde and his paling face, the elder couple narrowed their eyes. The aura surrounding them suddenly took a turn for the worse.

In Naruto's mind, he was cursing a certain pervert for putting him in that situation. 'Damn it! He didn't tell me that we were gonna meet his parents!! This moronic pervert!! Mou… stop staring at me like that already… I shouldn't have come! Damn! Why am I such a sucker for ramen!? Crap! Is his dad's eye twitching?! Damn this idiot! Stupid, immoral, dishonest…' Naruto sneaked a side-glance at the man that put him in the current predicament. Kakashi was still smiling like everything was right on Earth and all his planets were in perfect alignment in outer space.

'_The nerve of this_…!!'

**::_Flashback_::**

Naruto was on the verge of drooping off to _Ramen-land_ when he felt his cell phone vibrate. Jolted out of his SWS/NREM **(1)**, he glared at the phone, rubbed off some drool and then flipped the phone open.

Looking at the caller's number, he growled. "What?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Is this the way to address people on the phone?" A familiar tenor drawled.

"…Bye."

"Oi! Wait!"

"…What?"

"I'll come pick you up at 10:30 tomorrow morning."

"…Why?" –yawns–

"I found a nice place that has awesome ramen! I want to try it out but I don't wanna go alone…"

"Ehhhh…Is that so…Didn't know you were the shy type…" Blue eyes that were previously half-closed snapped open suddenly. "…Pervert, could it be that… you're asking me out on a date?"

A soft laughter drifted through the earpiece and Naruto could picture the other man scratching the back of his head abashedly while that onyx eye crinkle up into a happy crescent. "Uh, something like that."

"…Something like that?"

"Yeah, well, it could be a date of sorts… I guess."

"Let me get things straight: I'll kill you if you touch me! Understand!? Hmm… you're treating right?"

"Yeah, yeah. Of course I'll be paying… In the first place, weren't you the one who said some rubbish bout working people having to treat?"

"Well, I'm worried you might forget to bring your wallet or something. I don't wanna wash plates or be a free slave."

"Yeah, yeah, stupid brat… I'll bring a luggage of money so don't worry. 10:30 tomorrow is fine right?"

"Am not a stupid brat, pervert! Uhn. Just don't be late… Or else!"

"Fine, fine… Ch! See you tomorrow then."

"Uhn…" –yawns–

"Oi, sleep early and sleep on your bed instead of your desk. Your homework is drowning in your drool already… Good night and sweet dreams!" ::click::

"Uhn…" Naruto flipped his phone close then rose to get up when a thought hit him. 'How the hell did that pervert scarecrow know that I'm sleeping on my desk!?!'

_**::End Flashback::**_

The tense silence continued until the head of the Hatake clan cleared his throat. It was probably more a gesture than anything.

"Ah! _Chichi-ue_, _Haha-ue_, this is Naruto… my soon-to be… uh, _bride_." **(2)** Kakashi paused to stifle the laughter that is threatening to bubble when he saw Naruto's reaction to the word, _bride_, and continued. "Naruto, this is my father and mother."

"Uhn… Ah, nice to meet you!" The flustered blonde bowed deeply. "Uh, I apologize for, uh, the lack of grace; I was not informed about this meeting… …Please excuse me!"

Hatake Sakumo, father of Hatake Kakashi, circled the blonde and inspected him from up to down, left to right and front to back (while in the process, made the boy feel like some bacteria specimen under a microscope) before nodding his head and beaming like the sun. Hatake Yaeko, mother of Hatake Kakashi, had stood back when her husband started encircling the blonde like some police investigator. She later beamed like the sun as well before pouncing on the smaller boy, when she saw her husband gave the _"Stamp of Approval"_ in the form of a (highly discreet) thumbs-up and a wink, and cooing at how cute the blonde was.

The youngest Hatake merely stood back from the trio and tried very hard not to laugh at the expression on the blonde's face. It was really cute how the blonde could look bewildered, lost, angry and embarrassed all at the same time, and Kakashi suddenly found himself looking forward to the day where he would be able to see the boy's face every living moment.

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**STEP VI ½ : (Interlude) Meet the parents!? Caring friends? Good news spread fast… very fast.**

"Ne, ne, Naru-chan! What kind of wedding do you want? Ah, a traditional one would be good… but kids these days like to go for the Western ones, ne? Ah, that's right! How many children do you and Kakashi-chan intend to have? Two would be good, ne? A daughter and a son… Hohoho… Then I'll have a granddaughter and grandson soon! Ah… so happy. Ah, don't mind me… You can have more children if you want. In fact, the more the better… Hohoho…" The mother of his fiancé went on and on with a huge smile on her face, while tugging on the blonde's arm and being totally oblivious to the increasing discomfort of her slightly bigger companion.

Kakashi and his father wisely walked a few paces behind the two of them.

"Kakashi, I'm glad that you've finally decide to settle down." Sakumo said as he patted his son's shoulders proudly. "I never thought you would agree to the wedding when Jiraiya-sama told me about it."

"Aa, well… there were some circumstances so that's how it ended up." The silver-haired man replied as he smiled at his mother's antics and the blonde's reactions.

"…Does he remember the past?" Sakumo asked with a rare serious gleam in his onyx eyes.

"…"

"…I see." The elder Hatake sighed before smiling at his son. "Well, it doesn't matter, does it? The two of you are going to be married anyway, so eventually, the feelings will grow… Don't worry too much. Work hard, son!"

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled happily. _"Hai!"_ **(3)**

Not far ahead, Naruto hung his head and decided that, that day would be the most irritating day ever (even with the free treats of ramen), as Yaeko continued planning his life (the topic had shifted to education for the unborn children…).

* * *

45 minutes later, Naruto was having the time of his life. 

"And then, and then… he actually went to burn his book into ashes, stirred them into a glass of water and gulped it all down! **(4)** Hohoho… isn't our Kakashi-chan the silliest boy ever?" Yaeko giggled as she recounted an incident concerning a very desperate 6-year-old Kakashi, a difficult test that required loads of studying (which Kakashi didn't bother with), and some bad advice from a very misleading friend.

"Wahahahaha! He actually listened to his friend and took the advice literally!? Ahahahaha… So what happened then?" The blonde asked eagerly as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

Kakashi had left his parents with the blonde when he had received a call and with an 'I'll be back later' had walked out hurriedly. It was rather unfortunate on his part, for if he had stayed on, he could have prevented the blonde from getting precious blackmail material from his mother. As things were, his mother happily provided his young fiancé with loads of it (and his father listened to his wife tattled on as he sipped his rice wine blissfully).

"Oh… he choked, of course. We didn't know why he was choking, or at least what he was choking on because this silly boy had been doing it secretly in the kitchen in the middle of the night but when we did the _Heimlich_ on him, we found bits and parts of paper with some table and diagrams on them before we realized that he had burnt his _Kanji_ **(5)** book. In the end, we had to bring him to the hospital to pump his stomach that night so he couldn't sit for the test the next day… Hohoho…"

"Wahahahaha… That's hilarious! Tell me more please, Yaeko ba-chan!" **(6)** Naruto chirped as he stacked his 7th bowl.

The elder lady pouted a bit before ruffling the blonde's hair. "Mou, Naru-chan, it shouldn't be _ba-chan_ anymore right? It should be _Kaa-chan_!" **(7)**

The pretty blue eyes widen comically before the smaller boy turned red and slowly nodded his head. "K-Kaa-chan…"

"That's right!" Yaeko squealed as she hugged the boy to her bosom. "Ah, I'm so glad that you agreed to marry our Kakashi, Naruto. I was so worried at first… but I'm really happy now!"

The blonde raised his head and tilted it quizzically.

"Ah well, it was a pact between your parents and us… well, your mother and I, actually, many years ago... But since the accident happened, we thought you might not want to have anything to do with us anymore because we might bring back unhappy memories…" The elder woman bowed her head, eyes suddenly sad and weary.

"…Eh? But I don't actually remember much of my childhood anymore…"

"…What?"

Naruto gently removed himself from the embrace and sat back on his seat. "Uhn, I don't remember much of my past anymore… only bits and pieces come back to me sometimes. They mostly come back in the form of dreams though… and then when someone who looked a lot like my parents or talked like them, I'll just get a sense of déjà vu and some parts of my memory would resurface then. It's not a lot but at least, I still remember how my parents looked like and their voices…" The blonde looked up from his lap and nearly sweat-dropped at the sight; Yaeko looked like she was about to cry any minute.

"Ah! It's not really a big problem or anything… Really! It doesn't hurt that much since it happened when I was really, really young… Uh, yeah… when I was around 5 or 6. I no longer feel sad or anything, really!"

The elder lady sniffed and nodded. "…Say, Naru-chan…"

"Uh, yes?"

"…When you said you forgot most of your childhood, it meant… you forgot almost everything when you were young?"

"Uh, yes… Uh, my memories were all very vague. I only remember most of the things from when I was 10 or 11… why?"

Yaeko bit her lips. "…Then do you remember a…" Before she could finish, however, Kakashi returned to the seat and plopped down heavily next to Naruto.

"Hm, what's wrong?" The blonde asked as he stared at the ¾-covered face next to him.

"Aa, something happened in the Art Institute. I have to go back there later…" The silver-haired man mumbled as he scratched his head idly.

"Eh? But your parents are here…"

"Uhn… Would you mind if I ask you to take care of them for the afternoon? …I'll treat you to more ramen!"

The boy scowled and folded his hand. "Hey! I'm not that kind of person! I'll take care of them even without your offer of ramen!! …But you better treat the three of us to a full-course dinner later on, understand! Humph!" He turned back to the elder man's parents with a radiant smile on his face and started serving more tea to his future mother-in-law and getting another bottle of _sake_ for his soon-to-be father-in-law.

Kakashi smiled. The blonde was already behaving like a filial son-in-law to his parents.

* * *

"So? What is this urgent issue that needed me back immediately?" Kakashi drawled as he picked out a romance novel (actually, it was more erotica) from his shelf, sat down and started browsing though it. He was knocked off his seat shortly when his friends pounced on him. 

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!?!" Genma shouted uncharacteristically, shooting showers of blessing and his half-chewed toothpick in the silver-haired man's face in the process.

"YEAH!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US!? I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!!" Raidou screamed as well.

"…What are you guys going on about?"

"WHAT!? HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM AFTER NOT TELLING US SUCH AN IMPORTANT MATTER?!"

"YEAH!! HOW CAN YOU BE SO CALM!? I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!!"

Kakashi reasoned that the only way to get through to his friends (and to stop the damn showers of blessing from blasting out their mouths) would be to scream as well and so, decided to join in the shouting fest. "SO WHAT IS THIS 'IMPORTANT MATTER'?!?"

Genma and Raidou stared at each other for second, identical incredulous expressions on their face. Then like well-trained choir members, chorused (loudly), "THAT YOU ARE GETTING MARRIED!!!!!"

A deafening silence enveloped the three in the room (and the entire cohort of Arts students and teachers who happened to be on the same floor outside the room) before Kakashi actually dropped his book in surprise (yes, he had actually been holding the book the whole time).

"…How… did you guys know?"

In answer to that, Raidou whipped out a sparkling pink book with huge red _katakana_ **(8)** on them. The _katakana_ read, "_Icha Icha Honey 2 ::hearts::_" The scarred man quickly flipped to the first couple pages and shoved it in his friend's face.

Kakashi gently plucked the book from his face before squinting at the page. With the font size 20, was a line of rather touching (and rather corny) dedication — '_This special edition of Icha Icha Honey is dedicated to my dearest grandson, Naruto, and my soon-to-be grandson-in-law, Hatake Kakashi. To the two of you, I want to wish you all the best in your lives together._' At the bottom of the dedication, there was even a _haiku_-looking prose. '_Marriage is the death of love, many say. With this (he probably meant the book), marriage will be the firework of love. — Jiraiya_'

"This is… …this is!!"

Genma planted his hands on his hips and started again. "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US!?"

"YEAH!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US!? I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS!!" Raidou continued to voice his thoughts.

Kakashi rubbed his ears to clear the ringing then nonchalantly answered, "Well, it'll be bad if I tell you guys that I'm marrying because you will rub it in my face. It's troublesome to deal with you guys like that; I'll just get annoyed." He flipped the new edition of "_Icha Icha Honey_" and his eyes shone with excitement; the eyes of his friends were shining as well... but with unshed tears.

"Oi, oi, oi… That's kinda harsh of you, isn't it?" A familiar baritone voice drawled.

"Ah, Asuma! Rare to see you here…" The scarecrow greeted.

"Haha, these two told me there was some urgent issue that needed me here immediately. So… you're getting married, huh, Pervert Scarecrow?" The bearded man teased.

Kakashi smiled at the use of his old nickname. "Oi, oi, you read Jiraiya jii-sama's book too? …Smoked Gori."

"Nah… Heard it all the way from the other end of the floor. By the way, the rest of the people in this institute will probably hear about this good news about you too, Pervert Scarecrow."

"Eh? Don't tell me…"

"Yeah, loads of people were pressing their ears to the wall just now. I'm surprised it didn't collapse. And it helped that our dear Toothpick Muncher and Scar Face here seemed to have vocalized it rather loudly…" Asuma stated matter-of-factly as he jerked his thumb to the other two in the room. "Well, good news spread fast, doesn't it? Hahaha…"

Kakashi winced.

* * *

"Uh… ba-chan, are you sure this suits me?" Naruto asked unsurely as he stared at the mirror. Beside him, Kakashi's mother was smiling and her eyes were shining and her cheeks were flushed and bubbles, flowers and sparkles were all around her. 

"Mou, Naru-chan! If you call me ba-chan once more, I'm gonna pinch your cute rosy cheeks and hit your bottom!"

"Uh, hai! Then… Kaa-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Uh, this… are you sure it suits me?"

"Of course!" The elder lady went on to adjust the _obi _around the blonde's waist and straighten the creases in the sleeves. "You look so cute and pretty in this!!"

The blonde cringed. If someone had told him that he would one day be married off to a perverted man, and be dressed in a girl's _kimono_ by said pervert's mother, he would laugh hysterically before punching the life out of that someone and stuffing boiling hot _udon _down his/her throat. At current, all he could do was to remain stationary as Kakashi's mother flitted around him, adjusting his _kimono_ here and there and putting accessories around his hair while the elder Hatake looked around disinterestedly.

"Ah! I found this kimono as well! This one is pretty… Go try it on, Naru-chan."

"Eh? Again?"

"Yes! Every kimono has a fate to be with the destined wearer, you know! The one that you're wearing now is pretty but I think this one would be perfect!"

"Uh, okay…"

When Naruto came out with the new _kimono_, Yaeko busied herself adjusting the _obi_ and sleeves again while Sakumo had whipped out a familiar book that's often seen on the hands of the younger Hatake. Now, Naruto knew the true meaning of 'like father, like son'.

"Hmm… as I thought! This one is meant to be worn by you, Naru-chan! We'll take it! _Anata_, take care of the bill! Next! Let's look at the shoes sections!!"

Naruto resisted the urge to cry.

* * *

"So everyone in this place knows already?" 

"Hahaha… don't worry 'bout their reactions. So? Who's your future mate?" The bearded man asked as he reached for his lighter and cigarette.

"Uh well…"

In sync, Genma and Raidou chorused again. "It's Jiraiya-sama's adopted grandson, Uzumaki Naruto!!"

The cigarette fell from an agape mouth. Few seconds later, Asuma joined in the yelling fest as well. "WHATTTTTTTTT????"

Two minutes later, Kakashi hung his head and decided that, 'this day would be the most irritating day ever'. His three friends were just shooting bullets at him about morals, responsibility and the laws that deal with pedophiles, the importance of trust in friendship, and random inputs about why Raidou thought they were friends. Sighing, he looked at his shelf forlornly then looked at his watch.

"Oi, are you listening, Kakashi? Marrying such a young kid is not a good thing. People might think you're some sugar-daddy! …You're not a sugar-daddy, are you!?!"

"You should trust us with these things, Kakashi. How would you feel if you found out that I was gonna marry from an erotic novel of all possible sources?"

"How could you keep these things to yourself!? I mean, aren't we friends?!"

Kakashi sighed and hung his head. Yeah, this has got to be one of the most annoying days ever.

* * *

He could hear laughter inside the house. "Ah! Tou-chan, you're good in this game!" A familiar voice chirped. 

A deeper one chuckled. "Yeah, Kakashi always made me play Go with him when he was younger."

"Here, take a rest… I made some tea."

He smiled a bit and dragged his mentally fatigued body towards the door and pressed the doorbell. The familiar tone of Doraemon greeted his ears and lifted his spirits a little bit.

"Ah, it must be him. I'll go get it…"

"I… I'm back…" An eerie voice called out, scaring the soul out of Naruto, who had came forward to open the door. An equally lifeless-looking Kakashi, who staggered into the hall, accompanied the lifeless voice.

"Ka-Kakashi?" Sakumo called out, alarmed that his son had (behaviorally) changed into some kind of zombie. 'It must be all those bandages he had been wrapping himself with… Now, he's finally become a mummy!' He thought worriedly.

His wife mirrored his thoughts. "Kakashi-chan! Oh no! Didn't I tell you not to put those bandages on yourself everyday? Look what has happened… …You finally turned into a mummy!! What's Naru-chan going to do!? Really… you're so irresponsible, just like your father!"

The elder Hatake gaped at his wife before defending himself from the accusation. "What!? When have I been irresponsible!?"

"You are! Remember that time…" And the couple began their usual squabble, becoming totally oblivious to their surroundings.

The recovered blonde stared at Kakashi; the man was slowly stoning. "Hey… you okay?"

"Huh? Oh… Aa, I'm in the pink of health…"

"Hmm…? Doesn't seem that way… Hey, come on, let's go to someplace quieter while your parents sort things out." The boy suggested as he inched away from his quarreling parents-in-law and took the stairs up to his room. Kakashi tottered behind him.

"So. What in the world happened?" Naruto folded his arms and raised his brow as the silver-haired man flopped onto his bed without his permission. "Hey, you can't do that!"

Kakashi groaned and brought his hand to rest on his forehead. "Oi brat, give me a break! I had the worst dressing-down in my entire 29 years of age and it was from three men my age and it lasted a few hours so just give me a few moments to recover from that traumatizing experience."

"Ch! Fine!" Naruto plopped down on the bed as well and looked at the miserable form of the scarecrow. Somehow, it felt weird to see the pervert in such a horrible mood.

"Hey old man… how did you know that I was sleeping on my desk yesterday?"

"…"

"Hey! Answer me! Don't tell me you are stalking me now?!?"

"Haaa… I passed by your house and saw you (silhouette) slumped over the desk."

"Why were you passing by my house?"

"…Is this… interrogation?"

"Answer!"

"Ch! Commanding brat… Wanted to take you out for supper..." '…as well as to see your cute, angry face.' "Teuchi-san said that he'll give me a discount for such a large bill from that time. He said, _"That boy is good business. He is equivalent to 10 customers. Bring him here the next time yeah?"_"

"You cheapskate…"

"Yeah, whatever… Just shut up now okay? Head hurts…"

The younger male pouted but wordlessly sat on his bed and grabbed the nearest… _thing_ to huggle as he sulked. Despite his irritation at being told to 'shut up', the blonde felt a little worried; he had never seen the scarecrow this subdued. Usually, the older man would be harassing him and calling him irritating names. He wasn't used to a Kakashi like this.

Feeling a little guilty for asking the blonde to shut up, Kakashi peeked open his onyx eye and stared at the quiet blonde beside him. Then his eye moved south and he frowned. "Is… is that a… a stuffed fox you're hugging!?"

"It's not just a stuffed fox! It's called Kyuubi!! See it has nine fluffy tails behind and…"

The silver-haired man sweat-dropped. "That's not the point! Are 18 year old boys supposed to be hugging soft toys?" 'And look so cute at the same time…?'

Naruto blushed a bit then started stuttering. "Y-you don't u-understand! Th-this is no ordinary plushy! It uh, went through happy and sad times with me… and it has been with me since… forever… Uh, it has loads of sentimental value… …Stop looking at me like that, damnit!"

Kakashi stared at the plushy for a few more minutes before a look of recognition flickered across his countenance. "Hey, where did you get the plushy?"

"Huh? Hmm… I had it when I was really young. Someone gave it to me… but I can't remember who it was…"

The older man gazed at the boy before nodding. "I see. Well, let's go and have dinner. I'm starving."

"Hm? Aren't you unwell?"

"Yeah, but I bet your stomach will start growling and make disturbing noises later so I might as well stuff you with food first."

Naruto's face was a cross between a pout and a scowl. "You… You better treat us to a good meal!" 'Ch! I shouldn't have been worried about this guy! I'll eat his money away! Damnit!'

"Yeah, yeah…" Kakashi drawled as he memorized and stored the image of Naruto's face in his memory folder (affectionately titled, 'Naruto's 101 facial expressions') before abruptly standing up and dashing out of the room. "…Last one who reach downstairs will have to eat … …NATTO!" **(9)**

"H-Hey! You cheat!" The blonde cried as he threw his precious Kyuubi and scrambled towards the other guy, and trying ways and means to sabotage the man's descend to the living room.

As the couple left the room (in a cloud of dust), the little plushy lain among the sky blue pillows peacefully, locking the memories between an 8 year old Naruto and a certain older boy.

* * *

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. 

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Major OCC-ness, a long chapter, bad language, OC, revival of deceased characters, pathetic attempts at humor and fluff, as well as shounen-ai.

A/N:

(1) SWS/NREM – The first cycle of the sleep cycle. The REM cycle is when dreams start happening

(2) "Chichi-ue, Haha-ue" – "Father, Mother" but the honorific "ue" (pronounced as wu-eh) is a more respectful term.

(3) "Hai!" – "Yes!"

(4) The 'burning your textbook into ashes and stirring it into your drink thing' is a joke, actually. There's this superstition in my country that burning a paper charm into ashes, mixing it with water and then drinking it will help in your studies. My mum actually did this to me when I was sitting for one of those life-altering major examinations so yeah. I can't recall if it helped though.

(5) Kanji – It's the Chinese characters in the Japanese writing system. Very difficult to remember the damn strokes.

(6) "Ba-chan" – "Auntie"; grandma would be "baa-chan".

(7) "Kaa-chan" – Casual way (sometimes more feminine way) for "mother".

(8) Katakana – The second stage of the writing system. It's used mostly for foreign sounds or terms, and also for sound effects.

(9) Natto – It's… fearsome. ::shudders:: It's a food… that's just fearsome. ::shudders more::

Woot! I actually completed this last week but I was just too busy to actually load it. Valentine's day is coming! So, happy Valentine's day to everyone out there!

And also if you're celebrating this as well, HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR! WOOT!! It's the best time of the year, really. Shopping, food and red packets! It's DA BOMB! …But the spring cleaning part is crappy though.

Oh yeah, and thanks a million for the wonderful, wonderful reviews! I'm really happy that people are reading and actually finding this fic cute! Special thanks to Blue-Eyed Fox for the information on Ichiraku's jii-san (and nee-san)! He's such an important character, ya know… XD Oh, by the way, I was reading through some reviews when I forgot to address this particular issue by a lovely reviewer named Arisu Arisugawa. Well, arranged marriage between guys, m-preg (!!!) and such are common events in here. After all, this is an AU... ::smiles:: And to Let Me Be, hmm… close. Your review is hitting very close to home. XD

NEXT UP! The Wedding. ::starts Wedding March:: As well as the suspense continued from "**Step VI"**!!

As usual, please R & R!


	8. STEP 7

**_白のウエでイングブチック_（****_Haku's_ Wedding Boutique****）**

**10 MARCH, ****1130 hours, Cloudy**

**Circumstances of a certain photographer/art teacher **

"Just hold still. It's only a little bit more and you'll be released." A soft voice crowed as Kakashi gritted his teeth and tried to stop fidgeting. Those wandering hands on his torso were making him a tad uncomfortable. "Now, now… You want to get this done sooner, don't you?"

The silver-haired man nodded stiffly.

"Then I'll need your full cooperation. Now, Stop. Moving!" That stern command was followed by a furious tug on his _hakama _**(1)**. "Okay, it's done!"

The head seamstress of _Haku's Wedding Boutique_ cheerfully stepped back to admire her handiwork. Other than the grimace on the half-covered face of the groom (Kakashi was adamant about keeping the mask; he insisted that he'll take it off on the wedding night itself though.), the whole ensemble was perfect. The _montsuki _**(1.1)** kimono held the family crest of the Hatake family, and was dyed in a dark navy blue and tucked into the gray _hakama_. The _haori_ **(1.2) **overcoat was also done in blue but at a much darker shade than the kimono, giving the silver-haired man a refined and elegant look.

"My, my, you're really looking _very, very_ gorgeous. I'm sure your little spouse will be _very, very_ happy! Hohoho…" The aged seamstress teased as she adjusted the _haori _and smoothed a bit of crease here and there. Though it was meant to make the man embarrassed, the seamstress had actually meant it; she had seen many, many grooms-to-be in her 30 years of experience, but this man was probably one of the most handsome she had ever met. (And she has not even seen his whole face yet!)

"Ne Nii-chan, if you ever want a modeling job, do look for my grandson's friend. He has many connections to the fashion industry; I think he used to work with this very renowned photographer who was the top in our entire country for 5 years! Hohoho…" The older lady cleaned up the mess of tapes, spools of thread and folded up the loose pieces of cloth.

Kakashi remained silent as he helped to pack up as well. After a short silence passed, he decided to raise an issue that had been bothering him since he stepped into the changing room. "Uhm baa-chan, uh, my uh, spouse… uh, that is… uh…"

"Yes…? …OH! Hohoho… anxious to see your little bride, aren't ya? Oh my, how blunt of me not to realize. Hohoho… He's just in the next room. I think you might have to wait a while though. The bride's kimono is much more elaborate."

"Ah. I see."

"Ne Nii-chan, Yaeko-san told me that you are a really good photographer! Tell me more about yourself." A sparkle flashed in her brown eyes. 'We could use some free labour around here, especially more models and photographers. _Fufufufu_…'

"… …"— sweats — 'I don't like the look in her eyes…'

* * *

_**白のウエヂングブチック**_

******10 MARCH, ****1140 hours, Cloudy**

**Circumstances of a certain 3rd year high school student**

"This is uncomfortable-_ttebayo_!" Naruto unconsciously slipped back into his old (odd, and childish) way of speech as he squirmed at the heavy kimono donning his body.

"Don't worry… You only have to wear this for a few hours here and there…" The seamstress fixing his kimono comforted distractedly. "There, all done!!"

Naruto turned away from the boy and tottered to the full-length mirror. His baby-blue eyes widen as he took in his whole appearance then blood rushed to his cheeks, and he quickly turned away from his reflection. Dressed in the traditional _shiromaku_ **(1.3)** and the red _uchikake_ **(1.4)** kimono, designed with beautiful and elaborate spiral, cranes and flower cart motifs, he looked different... _A beautiful and mature kind of different_. He wondered how his family (existing and soon-to-be) would react when they see him like this.

"Ah, this is no good. We have to get you more hair extensions in order to tie your hair into a bun. Here, keep the fan in your _obi_ **(1.5)** first. I'll go get the head accessories." The long-haired seamstress hurriedly pressed the small fan into the blonde's hands before moving towards the sliding doors.

"Ah, thanks Nee-san!"

"Ah, I'm a boy. You're welcome!" The seamstress (?) smiled before rushing off again to get the head accessories

Naruto blinked. Again and again… until the fact sank in before his jaw dropped.

"That was a guy!?"

Silence greeted him.

The blonde blinked again, then shrugged and turned to stare at his kimono.

'What the hell am I doing? I should be screaming my head off and protesting but here I am, all quiet and docile and even trying on the bride's kimono just because _Yaeko-ba_… uh no, _kaa-chan_ told me some things about kimono(s) and destined wearers and all that… Ch!'

His face took on a horrified expression as the fact slowly dawned on him.

'And in a few hours, I'll be married. Oh no, it'll be official! Even though Jii-san said we don't have to get married until after I finish high school, we are still getting married when I'm just in the first term of 3rd year!! Mou… _ero-jii_ is such a liar!!' The blonde stuck his tongue out at no one in particular and scowled.

Then a thought struck him. 'Ero-jii… …Liar… …Could it be… I'm …scammed?'

The long-haired boy dashed in and placed the basket of hair accessories by the table, disrupting the blonde's mental process. "Sorry, sorry… It took me a while to get the right color. Not many people have blonde hair here. Naruto-kun, please sit here and I'll…"

"I'm not doing it."

"And I'll clip them on and… …Eh?"

"I'm **NOT** doing it!" The blonde spat as he tried to rip the kimono off his body. When that failed and he didn't get the desired effect he wanted, he thought 'what the hell' and wriggled out of them while the other boy did an (awesome) impersonation of a goldfish. Only when the blonde managed to get himself entangled in the mess of silk and hissed, did he snap out of it.

"You can't do that!"

Naruto paused in his struggle and looked up defiantly. "Who the hell do you think you are deciding whether I **can** or **cannot **do something! Ugh! Damn it, this thing is persistent!"

"You… Do, do you want your wedding to turn into a funeral!? Your grandfather and parents-in-law would surely collapse if you back out now!!"

The smaller boy stopped moving. A few silent seconds passed before the blonde started bawling. "I…! I can't do it! It's… I'm not ready at all! I can't do it!! What to do!?"

"Relax. Wedding is just a procedure. The groom seemed like a nice guy anyway, so why can't you go through it?" The seamstress, no, tailor comforted, as he misunderstood the blonde's distraught as pre-marital breakdown. "Besides, I heard your grandfather telling your mother-in-law how the two of you are all lovey-dovey and that you can't wait to be alone with your husband-to-be. After all the ceremonies, you can…"

He didn't finish his statement as the blonde shot him an incredulous look laced with an incredible killing aura. "W-wh-what!?! That ero-jii did what!? I-I… Lovey-dovey!?! With him!?!"

The tailor only gave a quizzical look before nodding his head.

"Haku? Haku?? Are you done with the bride yet?" A kind voice called out. A vein popped near the region of Naruto's temple when he heard himself being referred to as the 'bride'.

"Ah… Just give me… 15 minutes more. I'll get the hair done soon." The boy replied as he gathered the blonde in his arms and gently led him to the chair.

The kind voice spoke up again. "Hurry… The groom here can't wait to see his little spouse… Hohoho…"

There was a faint sound of someone saying "Eh, not really…" behind but the voice was quickly shushed.

"Yes, Baa-chan. I'll get him out soon." The tailor, known as Haku, assured and turned back to the smaller boy. "Look, don't worry about anything. I'm sure everything will be okay. Right now, it's way too late to back out on this. I'm sure the two of you will be together happily ever after. Now, let's get you dressed up so that you won't be late!"

So with that, Kakashi was left gaping at a blushing (mostly from anger as well as some other unidentified emotion from looking at Kakashi) and fidgeting Naruto, decked in the traditional wedding kimono and headwear, exactly 15 minutes and 50 seconds later.

"Hey! You! Stop staring!" The younger boy cried as he finally couldn't stand the pressure of those eyes on him.

The scarecrow blinked. "Hm? A-Aa. Let's go then. Jiraiya jii-sama and my parents have left. They are waiting for us at the _Shinto_ **(2)** already."

The couple took a step towards Kakashi's car and with that, a step closer to their fate.

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**STEP VII: And so it begins…? The Great Escape!? Class trip starts! The two absentees meet! **

_**::Flashback::**_

Tsunade bristled. "Just because you asked me to keep quiet about the whole thing, it doesn't mean I agree with you at all! I've been too quiet this whole while… I've decided! I'm not going to just let Naruto marry Kakashi like that. That poor brat doesn't even know what he's in for… And you tricked him into it!"

Jiraiya snorted. "Ah well. It's for his own good. Don't you dare tell him! Or I'll say you're in this too!!"

The blonde woman folded her arms and frowned.

"…Heh, don't worry! It'll work out okay!"

"I still think its wrong of you to throw the two of them into a marriage like this. Naruto hardly remembers Kakashi… And Kakashi doesn't seem to be ready for marriage at all…! He's still flirting and being perverted like he was since he started buying your damn books! How are they going to live together like this?" Tsunade reasoned as she folded her arms and frowned at the white-haired man before her.

"Hey! Don't damn my books!" The white haired man cried indignantly before settling back down on the bed. "Hm, they're going to be fine. I made a promise to Naruto's father and I'll keep it." Jiraiya looked at the blonde woman with a rare serious lbook on his face. "I'll make sure I fulfil that promise, no matter what."

The old man could still remember holding the hand of his beloved student, who he regards as a son, as said man gasped his last wish to him. He had vowed then to make the remaining descendant of the Uzumaki family his grandson and to take the very best care of him before entrusting the boy to the Hatake family. He would never ever fail his son.

Seeing that expression on her old pal, the busty woman could only bury her hand in her hair and concede defeat in the argument. "Fine. I get it… But I still think it's unfair to them. They have to live the rest of their lives together just because of a promise? That promise to marry Naruto to Kakashi was made when the brat was 5! Besides, Naruto is still so young and naïve and you never even taught him anything about adults and sex... Till now, he probably still believes that babies come from peaches and storks!! How do you think he's gonna react if your number 1 fan starts approaching him at night?"

Jiraiya stood up from the hospital bed suddenly. With fire burning in his eyes (and waves crashing against rocks in the background), he clenched his fists and exclaimed, "IT WILL BE OKAY! BECAUSE _ICHA ICHA HONEY 2_ WILL BE OUT BY THEN!!"

Tsunade got extremely confused (and probably looked it too). "What has your pervert book got to do with anything?"

"Hehe… I included some survival tips for Kakashi. With those, he will conquer _all_ obstacles." The old man leered, with a gleam in his eye.

The blonde woman calmly took a few deep breaths before walking slowly towards the man. Then very calmly, she raised her fist against his head and very calmly brought it down, hard. To her surprise (and to Jiraiya's credit), the man actually dodged it with ease.

"Heh! You think after getting so many punches, I'll fall for that again!? Anyway, I'm sure they'll both do fine… Kakashi is a grown man and knows the limits. Hm, Naruto… well, he's gonna fight the man all the way if he pisses him off or does perverted things. Trust me, I know."

Indeed, Jiraiya knows best.

After all, he had been whacked many times when Naruto had caught him staring at young girls indecently and when he had made lewd comments about Naruto's female classmates. Suddenly, the senior felt a deep sense of sympathy for Kakashi.

"Maybe… but I'm just worried about Naruto. He's still young and innocent even though he's already 18… It just angers me when I picture Kakashi putting his grimy paws around the boy. I treat him (Naruto) like my grandson, you know…" Tsunade sighed, the worries and guilt that had been plaguing her made her look her age for once.

"I know. But Naruto's mother was a good judge of character. If she had wanted to pair up Naruto with Kakashi, I'm sure she must have known that the brat would be good for her son."

"Yeah, but still… ...Haaa… Oh well, if you say so. BUT if I find out that Kakashi had touched Naruto indecently when my little brat had been unwilling, he's gonna get it!" The busty blonde shook her fists and veins started popping all across her temple.

Looking at her, Jiraiya wisely kept quiet and lay on the bed meekly. 'Yep. I definitely feel sorry for Kakashi.'

_**::End Flashback::

* * *

**_

**ホテル木の葉 ****(_Konoha_ Hotel)**

**10 MARCH, ****1850 hours, Windy**

**Circumstances of a certain pair of senior citizens**

The old man and the old woman stood side by side as they stood up to toast the couple on the stage. The old man had tied his wild white hair into a ponytail and had donned his best kimono while the elder woman beside him had tied her golden hair into a bun and had donned on a sky-blue kimono on. Both were currently dabbing their eyes, with the former being more discreet while the latter openly taking her navy blue hanky and wiping her lower eyelids. It is also good to mention that the former was crying because the latter had pinched his arm when he had made some R18 comments when the couple was moving up the stage.

"Oh, look at Naruto… he's still just a child!" Tsunade sobbed a bit as she saw the blonde blushing madly when Kakashi had stood closely behind him and had wrapped his larger hands around his smaller ones while they cut the wedding cake.

"So I said, don't worry. He won't be a child no more after the honeymoon!" Jiraiya said as he took a bigger gulp of _sake_ and cheered when the couple moved onto the champagne tower. The right hook was so quick Jiraiya only noticed it when his field of view moved from the stage to the ceiling. He mentally cursed himself for not thinking before speaking.

**ホテル木の葉 ****(_Konoha_ Hotel)**

**10 MARCH, ****1910 hours, Windy**

**Circumstances of a certain pair of parents-in-law**

"Oh look! How cute!! _Anata_, aren't they such a cute couple?" Yaeko squealed as she took in the sight of the red-faced blonde and her son, who was looking a little pink, himself, when the crowd started chanting 'Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!', when someone who sounded suspiciously like Naruto's grandfather started it.

"Yeah." Sakumo chuckled when Naruto started glaring at the crowd and the chanting increasingly irritated Kakashi.

Yaeko giggled. "They look so adorable... …Ah! They kissed!!" Actually, it looked more like angry meshing of lips as Naruto had been so pissed he grabbed Kakashi by the hair (he was nearly a head shorter than his husband) and smashed his lips clumsily towards the older man's. "Wow! I didn't know Naru-chan is so passionate! _Fufufufu_, Kakashi is such a lucky boy!"

Her husband merely smiled.

**ホテル木の葉 ****(_Konoha_ Hotel)**

**10 MARCH, ****1945 hours, Windy**

"Alright! Have a good honeymoon!" Jiraiya cheerfully greeted as the group of relatives neared the lobby of the hotel. Tsunade sharply elbowed him suddenly. "Oof! A-ah! Kakashi, I uh, want to speak with you about some things. Uh, privately."

"Yes, Jiraiya jii-sama"

As the two (renowned) perverts walked away, Tsunade pulled Naruto to her side. "Naruto, don't worry about anything. I've asked your grandfather to tell Kakashi not to do those things to you. You're still young after all."

The blonde titled his head curiously. "Eh?"

His parents-in-law caught on very quickly. Sakumo quickly excused himself and joined his son and his grandfather-in-law.

"Uh, Naru-chan… don't worry too much. Your father-in-law will also talk to Kakashi-chan so that he won't uh, do those things to you." Yaeko smiled and patted the boy's arm comfortingly.

"…What things?"

Tsunade huffed. "Oh, he's such a child! What do I do with you?"

Naruto merely scratched his head and tugged at his heavy white _kimono_ in extreme confusion.

On the other side of the lobby, Jiraiya was talking about abstinence — a topic that he never imagined himself giving in his entire life.

"…Got it? Don't touch Naruto if you want your life. His punches are really powerful even if he looks like a little squirt. Oh, and even if you want to touch him, at least make sure he's willing. Otherwise, Tsunade will seriously give you her '_Iron Fist of Justice'_. It's extremely powerful!"

Kakashi turned incredibly pale and slowly nodded.

Sakumo added, "Kakashi, your mother wants me to tell you to keep your hands to yourself unless Naruto wants them on his body. I'm sure you know what your mother is capable of…"

The scarecrow turned extremely white and nodded frantically.

"Have you finished talking?" A sweet, feminine voice called out.

"Hai, _yome-san_. **(3)** I've talked to Kakashi."

Tsunade glared at the fidgeting Jiraiya. "And you?"

"Uh, yes. I've given him the talk."

"Good." The busty blonde nodded her head.

Naruto gazed at the white and shaking Kakashi and wondered what his grandfather had told him. Just when he was about to ask, Yaeko suddenly glomped and hugged the newly married couple and squealed a bit more before gently pushing them towards the awaiting limousine. "Now, the two of you… Go have a nice, wonderful honeymoon! And Kakashi-chan, remember what your elders had just told you."

Moments later, the young Hatake couple was off.

* * *

**サリタ空港 ****(_Sarita_ Airport) **

******10 MARCH, ****2018 hours, Windy**

"Come on, squirt. We're gonna be late." Kakashi grumbled as he lugged the hand luggage towards the departure hall. Walking at a snail's pace behind was his blonde spouse.

"Uh, old man… I uh, need to go to the toilet." Naruto stammered as he pulled at the hem of his oversize T-shirt.

The silver-haired man sighed, dropped his baggage and stuck his hands on his waist. "What? Again? Is this your first time taking a flight?"

"Uh…" The blonde fidgeted more and his blue eyes were looking at everywhere except the obsidian eye.

"Fine, fine, I get it. You're probably nervous, huh? Here's the ticket. I'll wait for you on the plane; hurry your _arse _up there as soon as you finish, get it?"

Naruto nodded.

"Okay, I'll see you later." Kakashi gave the smaller boy a warm smile before picking up the luggage and moving towards the hall. Naruto waved a bit before turning around, a gleefully innocent look on his face before he made his way towards the direction of the toilets.

"Ladies and gentleman, thank you for joining our airline, _KNA_. In a few minutes, we'll be departing. Please fasten your seatbelts, and switch off all electronic devices, including cell phones, pagers, PDAs and laptops. The safety video will be playing shortly. Flight crew, please prepare for takeoff. Thank you."

Kakashi cursed. 'That damn brat! Why the heck is he taking so damn long?' He thought as he got up and tried to look around for that mop of unruly golden hair while whipping out his cell at the same time. A flight stewardess happened to walk by his aisle.

"Sorry sir. We're taking off soon. Please take a seat and put on your safety belt. And please switch off your cell phone." The stewardess smiled as she gently guided the silver-haired man back to his seat.

"Uh, no. There should be another passenger…"

"Oh no, sir. There are no more passengers boarding this plane."

"…What?"

"Ah, we've to get ready. Sir, please put on your belt."

"…But…"

"Please put on your belt, sir."

With a frustrated growl, the tall man plopped onto his seat and fastened his belt. Behind him, a pair of newly weds gossiped. (…and about him too…)

"Ah, look at that guy!" The wife murmured.

"Oi, don't be rude… It must be his first time taking a flight…" The husband whispered.

The wife exclaimed (albeit softly). "Eh! At that age?!"

Kakashi growled louder and turned behind to glare at the couple (silencing them effectively) then turned back to look out the window. 'That idiot! I'll kill him!!'

As the plane grew in distance and altitude into the starry night sky; Naruto stared at it for a little while before waving merrily and making his great escape.

The time was 2035 hours.

* * *

**Some hotel in Water Country**

**11 MARCH, ****0915 hours, Sunny**

"Haaa… it's just not the same without Naruto here with us…" Kiba whined as he unpacked his Akamaru-modeled bolster and pillows and took out the framed photographs of his beloved pet.

"Yeah, it's too quiet…" Chouji agreed. He went on to stock the room fridge with his supply of snacks.

Shino nodded stiffly before reaching out to read his issue of _Science Weekly_; he could barely contain his excitement at that issue because it had an exclusive coverage on some rare cricket-like insect that mated only once in 17 years! **(4) **

The last boy threw his half unpacked luggage on the side of his bed (nearest to the door and bathroom) before throwing himself on bed and yawned. "This is so troublesome… Why do we have to have cultural activities the moment we reach here…? And after unpacking too… Didn't have enough sleep on the plane too... So troublesome…!"

Kiba looked at the lazy boy and raised his brow. "Oi Shikamaru, I thought you were supposed to be smart… didn't you hear this saying — the early bird catches the worm?"

Shino perked up from his reading when he heard the word 'worm'.

Chouji stopped unpacking and threw a quizzical look to the canine-obsessed boy in their group. "Uh, what does that have to do with anything?"

Kiba's eyes rolled his eyes and gave them a look that incredulously made them feel like the idiot for once. "Oh come on! The earlier we get out of here, the sooner we can look around the town and the …people!"

"Oh, so you just want to look at the female species sooner." Shino muttered as he turned back to his magazine, previous excitement from the word 'worm' deflated.

Kiba frowned. "Uh, yeah. What's wrong with that?"

Before anyone could enlighten him, someone knocked on their door.

"Hello youths! How are my dear students doing on this fine lovely day? I bet you're all feeling the burst of youth and power surging forth on this beautiful morning! Now come on, follow me as we jog towards our destination!!" The teacher that gave this passionate morning greeting was a weird man called Maito Gai. He was their PE (physical education) teacher and the teacher in-charge (IC) for the tour. Other staff(s) that were taking other people from their class were their form teacher, Iruka-sensei, and Math teacher, Kurenai-sensei.

The group of four had been the unfortunate ones who drew the (deceptively) greenish green straws out of the light greenish blue and dark greenish black. Together with another senior (who had came back to visit the high school and his 'favourite-est' Gai-sensei after graduating), the group of 6 made their way towards the lobby of the hotel (by jogging down the stairs from the twelfth storey).

Iruka cleared his throat after doing the headcount. Not getting any response from his rowdy class, he cleared his throat again... Longer and louder this time.

"Ahem! Alright, students! Gather round and keep your volume down. Didn't I just tell you people that you're the oldest batch in school? Act more mature!" The dolphin went into auto-lecture mode the minute he had the students' attention.

"Now, I want each of you to follow your teacher IC and make sure you keep tabs on everyone in the group. If you get lost, stay calm and remain in one place. Since we've permitted the use of cell phones, make sure you have the hotel number and your IC's number in your contacts. Alright… a few things to take note…"

As Iruka-sensei rambled on his expectations of them, Kiba looked around. The girls in their class were looking rather miserable for some reason and he thought he felt someone missing…

"It's Uchiha. He couldn't come." Shino offered helpfully the minute he saw Kiba's brows creasing.

"Oh yeah! That's right! No wonder the girls look so depressed… Why couldn't he come, by the way?"

Chouji stopped chewing his fruit gums and muttered something about the coming championships and practice.

"Ah well whatever! Better for us; more girls will look our way!! Mwahahaha…!!"

The remaining three gazed at the currently fantasizing boy and shook their heads unanimously. 'This guy is going to be Jiraiya the second (or third, if you include a certain scarecrow).'

* * *

**Some street in _Konohagakure_**

**11 MARCH, ****0948 hours, Sunny**

Naruto wondered where he should go next. He had spent last night in a private room in some weird pub. Where was he going to go for the day? He can't possibly go back home or go anywhere near places where he knew his relative might be. And there were 3 more days before they were supposed to be back from their honeymoon… where to haunt for 3 days…? Seeing some students milling around the streets aimlessly, an idea suddenly struck him and he made his way towards his destination.

"Ahh… no place like school when you want to escape from home!" The blonde chirped as he made his way towards the taps to wash up. Happily splashing his face and neck with the cool water, he failed to see an approaching presence until it was too late.

"...! Na…Naruto!?"

Said boy paused in his merry splashing before slowly turning around. "Sa… Sasuke!?!"

A poignant silence passed between the two before both exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing here!?"

* * *

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. 

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Major OCC-ness, a long chapter, bad language, revival of deceased characters, pathetic attempts at humor and fluff, as well as shounen-ai.

A/N:

(1) Traditional Japanese wedding garb. It's too troublesome to explain them all so go check them out! XD

(2) Shinto — Japanese shrine. The couple usually exchange nuptial wine given to them by the _miko_ (priestess) there before proceeding to the hotels for the wedding reception.

(3) Yome-san — 'Hana-yome' means bride; usually yome-san is referred to as wife (by the husband)

(4) Ah, this is inspired by the manga, _Pet-shop of Horrors 2_. By the way, there's a second series out! In this series, Count D has rooted himself in Japan and generally doing what he does best there. Do check it out!

The _Haku_ in this story is _the_ Haku. There isn't any relevance but I just felt like adding him in and _Sarita_ Airport is a parody (kind of) on _Narita_ Airport.

A/N 2: Just to answer some questions…

MPreg… is a possibility. But I'm not sure how I'm gonna manage it. Any ideas would be helpful…

The history between Naruto and Kakashi will come later. Much later. Much, much later.

Sasuke was hurt by the amok trolley. He was too distracted in his spying job to dodge.

And yes, I know I've been ending the last few chapters with ramen-eating and eating. (I actually like _soba_ more. XD)

Hope that clarifies stuff. Thanks for reviews!

As usual, please R & R!


	9. STEP 8

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Naruto screamed again, mouth slightly agape and face still dripping wet.

"…" Sasuke threw the other boy a stare that seemed to say, 'I asked first so you must answer first'.

It only took a minute for the blonde to decipher the meaning behind that glare. The raven-haired boy was expressive with his body language that way.

"Hey! I asked first! So answer, damn it!" Naruto shook his fists at the infuriatingly stoic brunette before him.

Sasuke folded his arms and snorted. "Humph! As if I would listen to a dead-last…"

"W-WHAT! Y-Y-You…! Who the hell do you think you are, you bastard!" The blonde shrieked as he rolled his sleeves while taking a few menacing steps towards his opponent. Stopping just a couple of feet away, he took on a stance that he thought looked _extremely threatening_. It would have been _extremely threatening_ if he were a few inches taller… or if he were at least taller than his rival. He spat on the ground and shoved his hands in his pockets like your average neighborhood/school delinquent (those with the big, perm-ed hair) and pressed his face to Sasuke. "Repeat it if you dare, you bloody bastard!"

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**STEP VIII: A-REEE!? When has this changed into SasuNaru!?! Also, gossiping couples, Forest Elves and get-away(s) are annoying** **(Edited)**

The brunette merely raised a brow and looked down at the smaller boy. "Ho… Are you trying to bully me again?"

"HAH!? Me, a bully? You must be joking! I'm just trying to teach you to RESPECT YOUR ELDERS!"

"…Elders? …You?"

"Who else is there, idiot!?"

Sasuke sighed. "Pardon me but I think I'm older than you… so you should be showing me respect."

The blonde shut up at that. He squinted his eyes and pouted his lips — the facial expression that Kiba called, "The Pouting Fox" — and folded his arms.

Sasuke resisted the urge to smile. 'That expression… Looks like he's thinking really hard to come up with a come-back line. Wonder what he'll say…? …He's not going to ask for another _ramen_ competition, is he?!'

"Well… if you talk about seniority, I'm way higher than you 'cause I entered the school first! So you better call me _senpai _**(1)**!"

With a sweat-drop, the taller boy nodded. "Whatever. I'm leaving."

"Ah! Wait! You still haven't told me why you're here…"

The Uchiha pointed to the shirt he was wearing and muttered, "Because of this…" It was the shirt of the soccer club. And on the jersey was the boy's number and name in bold white print against the dark green fabric. "The Inter-Highs are coming and Coach wants us to beat the rest of the teams in the other prefectures… We even have to stay for night training…"

Naruto's eyes widen slightly in awe. "Heh… I see. Ah! I've got a friend in the soccer club too! He plays for _Fuu-Ou_ **(2) **Academy. Have you played against them before?"

"_Fuu-Ou Gakuen_…? Uhn, we did. They're one of the seeded teams like us…"

"Ah! Then I'm sure you've play against him. Gaara… he plays the midfielder position… Red hair, fair-skinned, no eyebrows…"

Sasuke's eyebrows creased as he tried to recall his opponents. "Oh! Yeah, that guy who wears mascara? Really aggressive on both attack and defense…?"

"Uh, he doesn't wear mascara… he just has this really bad case of insomnia. Yeah, he's really aggressive when he plays!"

"Yeah, he's a good player. But he gets the red card halfway through the game all the time."

"Eh? Really? Gah… that's bad…"

"Aa. If he were more careful, their team would be really strong. They almost beat us in last year's Inter-High too. Hm, this year, they'll probably come up with some tactic to control Gaara's tendency to foul so that he can play throughout… Their team has this really good manager who does strategies well and…" Sasuke went on analyzing the soccer team of _Fuu-Ou_ and his thoughts on the team's respective members in such a serious manner that Naruto couldn't help but to sit beside the other boy and pay attention. As the morning's rays beamed down on them, Naruto suddenly saw why the stoic, egoistic bastard was so popular amongst the girls in their school — Sasuke was pretty… beautiful even if Naruto consider this from the perspective of a female. The light hitting the taller boy's side profile highlighted his sharp nose, slightly pink lips and long lashes and gave the boy a very ethereal aura. The spring breeze was gently blowing the wisps of fringe that hung at his temples, enhancing the overall 'feel' and impression on the blonde so he couldn't help but to stare harder.

Feeling the weight of eyes on him, Sasuke stopped his monologue and turned to look at the culprit. "…What are you looking at?"

Caught, the blonde's face turned a fiery red. "N-nothing. I was just…uh, thinking that you are, uh, talking a lot… It doesn't seem like you...!!...Are you really Sasuke and not his twin or something??"

Instead of his infamous sharp retorts that Naruto was expecting, the Uchiha's obsidian eyes suddenly widen as some epiphany hit him, and he blushed and gazed at the still slightly pink blonde.

"…W-What are you looking at, _kono yarou_ **(3)**?" This came from Naruto this time.

Sasuke looked a bit hesitant before replying in a quiet voice. "…'Sasuke'…"

"_The Pouting Fox_" made its re-debut. "Huh?"

"You… You called me '_Sasuke_' just now." **(4)** The brunette muttered as his face became as red as the tomato soup he had taken for dinner last night, and he started fiddling with his jersey.

"…Oh." The brunette and the blonde looked at their laps, faces burning as the spring breeze continued to ruffle their hair and the sun's gentle rays continued to warm them.

* * *

Kakashi was angry. 

He has been angry before but this time, he was downright furious.

Not only had he been tricked and abandoned by the idiotic brat, he had been gossiped about by the couple behind him throughout the whole flight experience; and the couple had this annoying habit to speak/gossip about him loudly so he had to turn around every few minutes to glare at them. And that flight stewardess had kept staring at him and smiling in that weird way. Ah! He was so pissed off!!

'It is all that stupid brat's fault…' Kakashi thought as he lugged all the suitcases towards the taxi stand. After waiting for 15 minutes and cursing the lack of taxis in the country, an old taxi finally made its way towards the taxi stand.

'Looks dangerous, that taxi… Ah well, better to take it than to wait more, I guess…' The silver-haired man bent down to pick his luggage when he heard the door of the taxi slammed shut.

"Eh?"

"OH! We need this taxi more than you so we shall be going first!!" It was the wife of the pair of annoying newly weds. "Bye then!" The annoying husband chirped and the taxi took off.

"…fuck." Kakashi cursed. Moments later, he threw his jacket on the floor in rage and cursed louder. "FUCK!"

* * *

"Hey, hey, hey! Take a picture for us!! Here, Michiko-chan!! Stand here! And… …Bee—!!!" Kiba smiled in what he thought was a charming smile (but actually looked really perverted…) and screamed as he held onto a smaller girl and did the 'peace' sign. 

"…" Shino looked at the camera that had been shoved carelessly into his hands. Shikamaru had accompanied Chouji on a food-tasting spree somewhere so the poor boy in shades (he was wearing his metallic orange ones that day) had been stuck with the other rowdy boy. His situation was a replica of an olive in a martini; the fifth wheel sitting in the car boot; the weeds in the garden; and the list of other redundancies that could describe his role goes on.

"Yo! Hurry up, man!! My cheeks are getting tired from smiling already…" Kiba grumbled as he rubbed his cheeks.

'Then stop this ridiculous nonsense this instant!' Shino thought as veins started erupting around his temples. Despite the irritation of being mistreated by Kiba, Shino obediently looked through the lens and focused on the girl while making sure that the canine-boy, or at least most of him, was out of the frame. 'This will teach him… that selfish _yarou_…' Just as his he clicked on the 'snap' button, a shock of silver hair came into view instead. Surprised, the insect-obsessed Shino nearly dropped the camera.

"Ha… Hatake Kakashi?!"

Said man merely raised his previously bowed head and looked at the boy who had called him.

"You… You're Hatake Kakashi…"

"……Eh, do I know you?"

Kiba chose to open his mouth. "Eh? Why isn't Naruto with ya?"

"You… You guys know Naruto?!"

"Hell yeah! We're his **best-est** buddies!!"

"… … … … …"

The older man's dark aura suddenly surged and swirled back, and a miserable countenance overtook the man's formerly blank and slightly confused face. He grabbed onto the two younger boy's shoulders and muttered just as miserably, "…Would the two of you listen to my story?" –– tears —

Overwhelmed, Kiba and Shino (the nearly forgotten Michiko-chan had taken the chance to inch away) gulped and nodded.

_**A tearful half-an-hour later… …**_

"EH!?!" Kiba and even, Shino screamed when Kakashi finished the last of his sad story.

"Whoa… I can't believe Naru-chan will do such a thing…" Kiba mumbled, still a bit shocked.

"…Unbelievable…" Shino agreed.

The scarecrow sighed and buried his head in his hands. "It doesn't matter anymore. More importantly, did he tell you guys anything? Like, where he'll be?? I have to find him… If something happens to him, I'll have no idea how to answer to the elders…"

"Eh? We don't know anything…"

Kakashi raised his brow. "Are you sure you don't know anything?"

Kiba shook his head furiously while Shino sipped his drink.

"Are you really sure?"

"Yeah, we know nothing!"

Unconvinced, Kakashi grabbed Kiba's shoulders and started shaking him. "You have to know something! I've to find that missing brat, damn it!!"

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY STUDENT!?!" A deep masculine voice cried.

The silver-haired man stopped his interrogation and turned to the voice only to see the most ridiculous sight in all his 29 years.

Before his eye stood two forest elves. One of them, the adult forest elf, was decked in an all green spandex attire with a bowl-shaped hair cut and extremely striking eyebrows, that can be used as a 'hazard sign' on the road, and stood with his hands stuck at his waist while his miniature version stood beside him in the same pose.

Faced with this incredulous pair of elves, Kakashi's obsidian eye widened and his jaws slacken. 'There are really all kinds of weirdoes on the planet!'

* * *

A soft growl pierced the awkward silence. 

"Ah!" Naruto blushed as he grabbed his belly.

The brunette beside him chuckle lightly, causing the blonde to stare at him in awe again, before throwing a playful smile to his companion. "Ramen? My treat."

The smaller boy was stunned for a minute before he threw his hands in the air and whooped. "You bet! Hahahaha…!"

After ramen at good ole' _Ichiraku's_ — the owner, Teuchi-san, immediately gave Naruto a 40 percent discount for bringing in a new customer so Naruto ate 40 percent more than usual, to Sasuke's horror — the pair went on for dessert at a cute dessert shop filled with Sanrio characters and cosplaying waitresses, and went on to catch a new action/animation movie (by the name of _Haruto_ 3 **(5)**) that Naruto had been dying to watch. Then they passed by an arcade and Naruto pestered Sasuke into fighting him on one of the King of Ninjas **(6)** machine. He got K.O-ed 27 times in a row and in the measly time span of 28 minutes flat. The result of this made him extremely unhappy and he showed his unhappiness by kicking stray cans, papers and other inanimate objects on the streets.

"Oi, stop acting childishly." Sasuke scowled as he witnessed the blonde stomped on an innocent (and unlucky) empty can.

"…Humph."

"…Oi! Stop it, I said…"

"…Don't wanna."

Frustrated at the looks some of the other pedestrians were giving them, he went to tug the smaller boy's shirt, growling '_Yamero_!' **(7)** at the same time. Irritated at the hands on his shirt, Naruto tried to shrug off the brunette's hands. While he had jerked away with too much force, Sasuke had grabbed on with lesser force. Now kids, according to physics, if the force that had been applied _to_ Naruto is less than the force applied _by_ Naruto, what would the net force be? Well, that answer would be the reason why Sasuke had lost his grip and subsequently balance. In a futile attempt to keep himself from falling, he grabbed onto the blonde. However, since Naruto was much smaller than him and therefore much lighter, he couldn't support their total weight and went down as well. Like the Titanic, they sank. Seconds later, the duo found themselves much alike the situation they had been in an unfortunate ramen competition the couple of years back. Except this time, Sasuke was lying on top of Naruto with his lips pressed against the other boy… and this time, he found himself unwillingly to move from this very position.

Ignoring the hands that were pounding lightly on his chest, he deepened the kiss. The hands that were pounding stilled. Very slowly and with a dash of hesitance, they wrapped around the pale neck of the taller boy.

In the middle of the street filled with milling pedestrians, the young couple ignored the rest of the world and indulged in that little act. ("…Kids these days…" A stray pedestrian that sounds strangely like the author commented.)

* * *

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF RIGHT NOW!!" The adult elf cried again, his finger jabbing at his direction. 

The smaller elf stared at him for a few minutes then those round eyes turn larger and rounder and he tugged on the green sleeves of his elder. "Gai-sensei, Gai-sensei! I know this man!!"

"Ho! Is that so, Lee-kun?"

"Yes! He was the two-timing pedophile that I was telling you about. I met him at the hospital when I sprained my wrists." (Refer to Chapter 3 for flashback.)

"WHAT!? Is that true, Lee-kun!?"

"Yes! I'm very sure! He was two-timing a smaller blonde boy. I cannot forget despicable characters like him, Gai-sensei!"

"Ho… If Lee-kun says so, it must be true!" Gai turned to the silver-haired man and jabbed his finger in his direction again. "YOU! GET AWAY FROM MY STUDENTS!!"

Kakashi raised his hands in front of him. "Uh, it's a misunderstanding… I'm not a pedophile or anything like that."

"HUMPH! ALL PEDOPHILES SAY THAT! NOW GET AWAY FROM MY STUDENTS!! I CANNOT FORGIVE PEOPLE WHO SNATCH THE HAPPY TIMES OF YOUTH AWAY FROM THE YOUNGER GENERATION!!" And the spirited Gai-sensei continued to give his passionate lecture, inciting tears of respect from his number 1 student.

"Eh, as I said, I'm really not any suspicious character… And can you stop screaming? The spit missiles are very disturbing…"

"SHUSH! I WISH TO HEAR NOTHING FROM YOU!! TAKE THIS, YOU YOUTH-SNATCHING THIEF!!"

Before the green man could land a punch on him, Kakashi made a sharp dodge then waved to Naruto's friends and made a run for it.

"COME BACK HERE! Not only is he a thief, he's a coward too!!" Gai cried as he tried to give chase.

"Ahh! Gai-sensei!! It's okay… He didn't do anything to us!" Kiba yelled as he stood in the teacher's way, trying to buy time for the silver-haired man's escape.

The man immediately rounded on the two boys and started inspecting them for any abnormalities. "YOUTHS! Oh you poor things!! Did the weird man touch you anywhere? Don't worry too much… There is justice in this world… I'm sure that weird man will be caught one day for his bad acts!"

"…Eh? Uh, we are fine, really… Uh, Ah! Shino! Didn't you say we have to meet Shikamaru and Chouji? Let's go now… We don't wanna keep them waiting. Bye Gai-sensei… and uh, thanks for coming to our rescue…" Kiba babbled as he grabbed onto Shino and pushed the taller boy towards the exit.

"Oh! It was my pleasure, youths! Now you guys must take care and don't talk to strangers! If that weird man comes back again, just call out to me, and I'll come rescue you!" Gai-sensei gave a thumbs-up and his signature blinding grin, complete with crashing waves, the setting sun and the background music of 'Kung Fu Fighting'.

"Ah… s-sure. _Sore ja_!" **(8)

* * *

**

Kakashi expelled a sigh of relief when he reached his room. 'Che! So much for taking a stroll…'

He removed his mask and flopped onto his bed with a big sigh. Turning his head to look out the window, he bit his lips in worry. 'Where are you, stupid brat?'

Just then, a few moans caught his attention. Curious, he walked towards the balcony and strained his ears more. 'Hmm, it seems to be coming from …downstairs?' He looked down… …and couldn't believe his eyes.

It was that pair of annoying newly weds... And the two were happily making out on the balcony (and in broad daylight too).

After a few moments of quelling his disgust, a thought struck him and raging fire burned in Kakashi's eyes.

'…YES! Chance!!' He thought as he rushed to the toilet, grabbed a pail and scooped up water from the toilet bowl then made his way back carefully to the balcony.

Minutes later, just as the couple got a bit more passionate, a ton of water suddenly poured down from atop. The wife shrieked in disgust while the husband yelled, "WHAT THE HELL!?" But when both of them looked up, there was no one there.

Kakashi laughed like mad as he put the pail back in the toilet. Now he knew why people said revenge was sweet… because it really is sweet, of course. He flopped back onto the bed and laughed a little more when he heard the couple screaming more obscenities in anger, and stuck out his tongue.

'That brat would probably be laughing his head off too if he were here.' The silver-haired man thought. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed the first number in his contact list and counted the number of rings. He was at the count of 18 when the voicemail got connected and asked him to leave a message. 'Again…? Where the hell is he?!'

"Oi, pest. That was really mean of you! Where the heck are you now? You better be okay or I'll make sure to take pervert photos of you and send them to your friends. Anyway, you better meet me somewhere before we pay a visit to my parents and Jiraiya-sama. I don't want them to worry about us... …Hey, just give me a call okay? I promise I won't bite your head off… I just… wanna hear you voice. Call me as soon as possible okay?"

Flipping his phone shut, the scarecrow shut his eyes.

* * *

The ring tone of "Pinocchio" (by _Ore Ska Band_) drifted in the air. 

"Hey, you've got a call…" Sasuke breathed into the ear of his smaller companion, who was resting his pretty blonde head on his shoulder.

After the little kissing stunt on the streets, the two had regained their bearings and took off to the nearby park in horror, embarrassment and confusion.

_::Flashback::_

Sasuke didn't want to pull away. He wanted to keep this precious moment forever... but as he opened his eyes, Naruto's face had turned a bit purple and his eyes were going all swirly.

'This dobe...' He sweat-dropped as he disengaged his lips from the blonde's swollen ones and leaned his forehead against Naruto's. That was when he realized two things.

One, they were obstructing the (human) traffic because every single being had stopped to stare at them, including little grade school kids (who had turned their heads to ask their mums, 'Mummy! What are they doing? ...I want that too!", to which their mums had replied, "No! Don't see. Just ignore...", and their kids had promptly screamed) and senior citizens with walking sticks were lamenting about 'youths these days' and how they (the old folks) hate spring.

Two, they had been making out for a full 2 minutes. What the hell was that all about, anyway!? How the heck did it happen?! How could he kiss Naruto without confessing yet!?

Sasuke suddenly felt angry with himself. He had imagined the scenario so many times — it would just be the two of them; and he would present Naruto with a few dozen of roses or maybe sunflowers and they would be atop a hill with many flowers and the sky would be a cheerful blue dotted with fluffy white clouds. Then he would confess and Naruto would be glassy-eyed and jump into his arms, exclaiming how much he loves him as well... Only then would they exchange the long awaited soul-searing kiss!

Yet now!! They were surrounded by the nosy citizens of _Konohagakure_; there weren't any flowers; and the sky was getting darker, signaling the impending rain. He hasn't even confessed, and Naruto was still slightly blue and dazed. But still... he was glad he took the dive and kissed the blonde senseless. 'Ah no! But still it would have been better to confess first then kiss... Ah! So irritated!' The brunette thought as he got up and pulled Naruto up as well.

Plagued with a convoluted mix of anger, embarrassment, disappointment and some happiness, he took the smaller boy's hand and the two made a getaway to the nearby park to get a breather.

Resting at a pavilion, Sasuke finally sorted out his thoughts. 'Well, it won't matter. It's also okay to kiss first then confess. We're in the e-generation after all...' So he popped the big question.

"Naruto. I like you. Be mine?" Squeezing his eyes shut and crossing his fingers, he hoped the blonde would assent.

Perhaps it was due to the lack of oxygen to his brain, or maybe because he was too tired, Naruto merely gave a soft 'Orh' without much mental process and plopped down on the bench, fast asleep.

'He agreed!!' Uchiha Sasuke, 18, top student and soccer star at _Ha-Ou Private High_ clenched his fists and turned slightly glassy-eyed as cupids blew their trumpets and petals and bubbles drifted around in the background.

_::End Flashback::_

Naruto rubbed his eyes and yawned a bit. "Uhn? Oh yeah… let me check my phone."

Flipping his phone open, he saw a list of 16 missed calls and 5 voice messages. All of them were by that same person...

The familiar rush of guilt overcame Naruto as he wondered again if it was a right thing to leave Kakashi alone. 'But who knows how he's gonna torture me when it's just the two of us alone…'

Sasuke wrapped his arms around the blonde and propped his head atop the blonde's, and asked, "Who's that?"

Naruto hurriedly flipped the phone close and muttered, "Ah, just my uh, relative…"

"Ho…" The brunette wrapped his arms around the other boy tighter and buried his head in the blonde's neck. "Asking you to go home?"

The smaller boy blushed and shook his head. "No… uh, just pestering me 'cause they're feeling lonely…"

"Hm, that's good then. I don't wanna let you go so soon…"

"T-That's embarrassing… Don't say stuff like that… And stop touching my neck…"

"Here? Ticklish? …But it's true; I don't wanna let you go. Not when I've finally caught you…"

"…" Naruto turned his head and gazed into the pair of serious obsidian eyes. "You've liked me for that long huh?"

"Yeah, two years ago… you stole my heart, you thief."

"Hahaha, how would I know a bowl of curry ramen would change your love-life…?"

"Yeah, I never knew that too… You know, after that incident, curry has become my favorite food, after tomato. Funny, huh?"

"Eh!? No wonder the girls call you the 'Prince of Curry'… Hahaha…"

"They do? Hm… who cares about them anyway… …Ah, holding you feels good."

"…Uhn. Hey, don't you have practice?"

"…Shoot!" The brunette gently disentangled himself from Naruto and looked at his watch. "Shit! Coach's gonna kill me!!"

"Haha, serves you right for ditching practice…" The blonde teased.

Sasuke frowned at the smaller boy a bit before smirking. Then he leant forward and gave Naruto a small peck on his right cheek. "Well, it's worth it if you ask me."

Holding the smaller hand, he smiled at the blushing boy. "Come on, let's walk back to school."

"Uhn."

* * *

"And then he said that when the plane was about to take off, Naruto didn't appear." Kiba finished as he looked at the photograph that Shino had taken for him and Michiko-chan. Whipping his head around to face the silent boy, he lashed out, "KORA! What the hell is this!? Why is my hand the only thing that can be seen in this picture?!" 

Shikamaru rubbed his chin as he processed Kiba's information. "So Naruto is still in Fire Country now huh… Knowing Naruto, he'll spend his time in school to wash up then he'll go to those 24 hours sauna/bath houses to sleep over. There might even be a chance he has made contact with Uchiha."

Chouji dropped the meat bun he had been chewing. "Uchiha? Oh no, Naruto will definitely pick a fight with him."

The lazy boy frowned. "Yeah, but I'm not worried about Naruto."

"Eh?"

"The real problem is, Uchiha."

* * *

A beautiful lady stood, staring at the Ferris Wheel with a soft smile on her face as her thoughts drifted to her lover and how it would be nice if he could come along for the trip. 'Mou, why did principal Sarutobi make Asuma stay back for the soccer team? Just because he was the teacher in charge of that club, he didn't have to stay back to watch the training too… He's not the coach after all… Mou…' The soft smile slowly morphed into a slight frown. 

"Hey pretty lady, why look so sad?"

'That voice…!' The lady turned around. "Oh my, aren't you Kakashi?"

The silver-haired man smiled before bowing. "At your service, Queen Kurenai."

Kurenai blushed a bit before smiling. "Mou, it's been so long. Stop teasing me…"

"Haha, I still remember how you bossed the four of us and made Asuma your personal slave." Kakashi teased as he handed a can of drink to her.

"Thanks. Hmm, hey, I heard from Asuma you got married! Congratulations… who would have thought that Playboy Kakashi would get married so soon…! Here for your honeymoon right?" Kurenai winked then took a sip of her can of tea before continuing. "I would have gone to your wedding but I found out too late and couldn't clear my schedule in time… Sorry bout that. So where's your bride…?"

Kakashi tensed a bit before resuming that smile. "Uh, he isn't feeling well…"

Kurenai paused. "Eh? ...'He'? Who did you marry? Wasn't it Rin?!!"

"Ahh… that brat is my childhood playmate. Rin… she…" Just then, a group of kids rushed out from the exit of the ride (they were standing near the exit of the Ferris Wheel) and accidentally knocked into Kakashi, who had been facing Kurenai, from behind. So the silver-haired man ended up hugging the lady in the bid to regain his balance.

"Ah. Sorry bout that, Kurenai…"

"It's alright. Mou, kids these days… They didn't even apologize…" Kurenai commented as she narrowed her eyes at the group of rowdy children and made sure to discipline them if she ever saw them next time. The world is a small place after all. Besides, one of them looked very much like her boyfriend's nephew — that little imp, Konohamaru. She was sure she'll get the chance to get them one day...

"Ah, but I'm still sorry about knocking into Almighty Queen Kurenai… Hahaha…"

"Stop teasing me already… I'm no longer…"

"AFTER INNOCENT YOUTHS, YOU LAND YOUR GRIMY PAWS ON WOMEN THIS TIME!?!" An eerily familiar voice rang out, interrupting the scarlet-eyed beauty, and caused many eyes to turn to the site of drama.

Kakashi cursed. "Oh no… please tell me it's not that weird elf…"

But fate was cruel to Kakashi that day, because a few feet away stood the forest elf and his smaller look-alike.

"Kurenai, I've to go. I'll talk to you another day. Bye!" And in a whirlwind of dust, and other miscellaneous particles that happened to be on the grounds, Kakashi made his escape the second time.

"That perverted coward!! Kurenai-sensei!! Are you hurt anywhere? Did he touch you?? We have to keep our eyes peeled open these days; the society is filled with fishy characters like that guy!!" Gai spouted as fire burned in his eyes and he shook his fists in the direction where the scarecrow had taken off.

Kurenai merely sweat-dropped and smiled.

* * *

"Tch! What rotten luck!!" Kakashi cursed as he packed his bags and prepared to leave the luxury hotel. "Uzumaki Naruto. You're DEAD!!" 

Miles away, in a 24 hour sauna/bath house, a blonde boy sneezed.

* * *

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. 

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Major OCC-ness, a long chapter, bad language, revival of deceased characters, pathetic attempts at humor and fluff, as well as shounen-ai.

A/N:

(1) _Senpai_ : Elder classmen (for some reason, I've seen it Romanized as sempai. _Nanda sore_!)

(2)_ Fuu-Ou Gakuen_ : 風王学園 , loosely translates to 'King of Wind Academy'

(3)_ Kono yarou_ : This bastard/jerk

(4) In Japanese culture (mostly), the use of the given name/second name represents a high degree of familiarity and intimacy. So it's a big deal when Sasuke gets addressed by his given name by Naruto

(5)_ Haruto 3_ : It's a parody of the Naruto 3 movie (that has already come out…?)

(6) King of Ninjas: It's a parody of the King of Fighters arcade

(7)_ Yamero_ : Loosely translates to 'stop'

(8)_ Sore ja_: Loosely translates to 'Well then/See you'

Thanks for the awesome reviews and continuous support; I'm very encouraged that you've kept on reading despite the immature writing and poorly articulated scenarios. It feels like lesser and lesser people are reading this story every post so it's a bit sad. — tears — Nevertheless, I will work hard. ::clenches fists::

Next up! Kakashi's return. The couple lives together. What would life be like for the two!? Also, will Naruto survive Kakashi's wrath (for ditching him on the plane)? All will be revealed on the next episode of FIRST LOVE!

-- Possible Spoiler --

On a side note, is it true that Kakashi dies later on in the manga? I saw that on a YouTube comment one fine day (which subsequently turned bad after I saw that comment.)

… …

I don't want that…! ToT

Anyway, as usual please R & R!


	10. STEP 9 N Omake

"What are you thinking about, _dobe_?" A cool can of orange juice pressed against his face, jolting him out of his thoughts.

"Am not a _dobe_, _teme_!" Naruto scowled as he gave a small nod and took the can of juice.

"Ho…? You were spaciiiiiiing out like a _dobe_ though… …Am I boring you?" Sasuke looked at down at his lap and fiddled with his can of coffee. 'This is bad. If I bore him at only the second date, what's going to happen to me…? Break-up…? Uwah! I don't even want to think about that…'

Naruto looked at the brunette beside him and couldn't help smiling at the slightly dejected look on the usually expressionless face. "Nope! Not at all… I feel good when I'm with you."

Sasuke smiled. "Really?"

'What a surprisingly simple-minded guy…' Naruto thought as he grinned. "Yup! _Gochisousama_." **(1)**

The blonde stood up from the bench, then took a few steps from the bin before taking aim. Then 'clank'!! …It was a miss.

"You suck, dobe!" Sasuke chuckled as he followed what the blonde had done but went the distance by taking more steps backward. Then 'swish'!! His empty can sailed in cleanly.

"Argh! You cheated! Just like how you cheated yesterday when you won me on the King of Ninjas! How could I possible lose when I use the all-powerful _Inori-sama_!? **(2)**

Picking up the stray juice can and throwing it into the bin, the taller youth snorted. "Fine. Let's go have another round then… I promise to go a little easier on you this round…"

The blonde stormed up to the other boy, neighborhood-gangster-style. "What did you say?! Fine, you're going to get it. I'll crush you totally and make you eat your words."

Half an hour and 15 rounds later… 

"Why!?" A small blonde whispered as he stared at the innocent screen that read 'K.O' in bold, cruel red letters, disbelief written all over his face. "WHY!? How can _Inori-sama_ lose to that _big-bosom_ with little clothes…? **(3) **How can this be!? Ah! _Mou_!! I'm not playing this game anymore!!"

With that, Naruto stormed to the exit of the arcade (like the repeat of the day before), with Sasuke trailing a few feet behind. Just as he reached the exit, however, another game caught his eye.

It was a UFO catcher. **(4)**

And in the large, glass box was a large plushy of a grinning scarecrow, which was unexpectedly cute, with bandages wrapped all around him and one hand holding a gleaming orange book.

'What a resemblance…' Naruto thought as he stifled a chuckle and reached into his pocket for some change. '…Hm, I think it's time to get _Kyuubi_ a companion...'

Up several thousand feet in the air in a blue jet, a silver-haired man sneezed and tossed around his seat, irritated, as he tried once again to shove-shrug the heads of the two bulky male passengers away from his shoulders. It really sucked to be stuck in the middle of two huge men in the middle aisle seats.

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**Step IX: ...SasuNaru still?! Tsunade gone berserk?! Life together starts!! **

"Hm, alright. I've to go now… Have to fetch my relative from the airport." Naruto announced while he hugged the 2,900-yen (he finally got it on the 29th try) plushy to his chest and turned around to face the raven-haired boy next to him.

"…" Sasuke frowned and shoved his hands in his pockets.

The blonde tilted his head in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"…Nothing. I'll… see you then."

"Uhn! See you in school!!" With that, the blonde turned and made his way in the opposite direction… only to be stopped by a strong pair of arms, wrapped around his waist.

"…Oi dobe, aren't you missing something?" Sasuke held the blonde tighter to him.

"Sasuke? What…?"

The brunette frowned and closed his eyes, savoring the feel of the blonde against him. 'Me...'

A familiar ring tone pierced the air. "Sasuke, let go. I need to pick up the phone…"

"Naruto… Don't you know?" The taller boy asked as he spun the smaller boy to face him then slowly leaned closer towards the blonde. "Every date… has to end with a kiss." With that he bent down and laid a peck on the boy's lips.

The blonde turned pink and gently pushed him away. "Mou, I'm already late, Sasuke… and I've to pick up the phone…"

Sasuke reluctantly let go of his firm grip on the blonde. "Fine. But remember… You're mine, Naruto."

"...Fine, fine… See you in school!!" Naruto waved then dashed towards the adjacent taxi stand and hopped into a cab.

'…I feel so empty... ...I'm missing him already?'

* * *

"Oi, pest. Why did you take so long to pick up the damn phone!? …I'm back. Where the hell are you?" A highly irritated, tenor voice yelled from the receiver as soon as he flipped his cell open. 

Rubbing his ear, Naruto yelled back. "Mou, I'm on my way there. Just wait for a few minutes more, old man!"

"Shitty brat! Hurry your arse here!! …Damn it, those two guys… if they look at me one more time, I'm gonna… …_Hey! Hey!! Yeah! I'm talking to the two of you!! What the hell you staring at_!?! _HAR_!?!"

Naruto looked at his cell in bewilderment. 'Is… is that the pervert? Why is he so fired-up?? Oh no, I don't wanna meet him when he's like this!!' The sounds of scuffling broke his thoughts and he immediately yelled again.

"H-Hey! Don't fight with strangers, okay? Anyway, I'll be there in a few minutes so stay out of trouble yeah? Hey, are you listening to me?" More sounds of scuffling answered him and Kakashi's voice came back on.

"What? I'm not a kid, brat! Those two guys are damn… _Oh yeah? What was that you were saying_?!"

Pissed, Naruto screamed. "HATAKE KAKASHI!! I'll be there soon so stay out of trouble. Understand!?" Not waiting for the older man's response (or lack-of; he was actually quiet because Naruto had addressed him by his name instead of the usual insults), the blonde flipped his cell shut and pestered the taxi driver to drive beyond the speed limit.

* * *

All sorts of negative scenarios flew through his head as Naruto ran around the airport looking for the arrival terminals and a tall mope of silver-hair. 'Oh man, please don't tell me he's finished off by those two guys! Oh no, maybe he's detained by the police…? Maybe they thought he's some kind of terrorist with his suspicious get-up?! Mou! I already told him not to cover his body like a mummy…' 

His blue eyes finally spotted a hovering mope of spiky silver hair. And they grew wider when they took in the sight of the owner.

That pervert was… …chatting happily with two men, who looked a lot like America-football professionals.

'What… in the world?!"

"Ahahaha…" Kakashi laughed as he jabbed one guy in the shoulder like they were long-time buddies. "What are you saying? The best was the original; if it wasn't for _Icha Icha Paradise_, I'm sure there would never be the _Icha Icha_ series…"

'Yarou… Talking about pervert books in the airport while here I am panicking… He's a true pervert after all…' thought the small blonde as he stalked to the trio.

"Hatake-san. What in the world are you doing?" Naruto asked, a fake smile pasted on his face as he tried to control his irritation.

"Ah! _Chibi-suke_!! Rare of you to be respectful… What trouble have you gotten in now? …Oh guys, this is Uzumaki Naruto… Uh, eh, or should it be Hata…" Before the silver-haired man could finish his sentence, the blonde stepped on his foot and turned to the two guys and stuck out his hand, with a cute, 100-megawatt smile.

"Uh hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you two. It's a shame but right now, Hatake-san and I are a bit busy so we shall make a move first. Good day." With that, Naruto tugged his spouse's ear and walked towards the exit, ignoring the yells of 'Itai!"; "Oi!"; "_Kuso gaki_!!" and "Oi! People are staring!!".

* * *

"What the hell was that just now?" The blonde yelled when they reached a more deserted section of the airport. "I thought you were gonna be whipped by those two guys!! Or captured by the police!! Or being deported to some forsaken territories!! And there you were, talking about perverted books in the middle of the airport, surrounded by so many people!! Didn't you see the weird looks thrown at the three of you!?!" 

Kakashi merely raised a brow and folded his arms nonchalantly. "Oi brat. Who the hell are you to lecture me?"

Naruto exploded. "I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU, YOU STUPID, ANNOYING PERVERT!!"

"…Ho…? So you were worried about me huh?"

"OF COURSE, YOU BLOODY JERK!! I even had to get the driver _jii-san_ to drive over the speed limit and we almost got caught by the traffic police and… …What the hell is so funny!? Wipe that smile off your face, _kono yarou_!!"

Kakashi merely smiled more and ruffled the blonde's head. "I'm happy, Naruto."

"…What!?" The extreme mood swing from the man made Naruto confused. 'This man... He has a screw loose or something?'

Kakashi looked at the weird combination of anger, confusion and horror on his spouse's face and stifled a chuckle. "Never mind. Anyway, because I'm really happy for your concern over me, I shall overlook all that screaming…" His jovial face turned grim. "…but it was really mean of you to abandon me during our honeymoon."

The memory of that incident struck the aggressive boy like a giant boulder and he looked at the floor guiltily. 'Shit. I forgot about that!' "Uh… about that. That is, uh, I have a good explanation…"

The older man shook his head and wagged his finger for good measure. "No. No explanation can appease the mental trauma I suffered. There's only one thing for you to remedy that mistake."

"Eh? But it was… uh, unplanned. So you can almost call it accidental. It just suddenly struck me that, maybe you might do something to me while we're away so I did it in uh, yeah, self-defense. Ah, that's right! It was for self-defense!!"

A vein ticked near Kakashi's temple. 'This shitty brat. He's digging his own grave.' "I shall pretend I didn't hear that pathetic explanation and that indirect insult. Anyway, the only thing that you can do to appease me is to… …obey me for two months."

"WHAT!? No way!!" The blonde shook his head frantically. "Hey, it's not fair. Why do I have to obey you for two months? You only suffered for like, two days."

"Two days, two months, it doesn't matter. The point is, I suffered so you have to do something about it. Besides, aren't you a man? You should take responsibility."

Naruto sweat-dropped. "H-Hey! Don't say things that make people misunderstand you." He hugged his plushy tight and pondered on it for a few moments. "One day."

— veins around temple explode — "7 weeks."

"3 days."

"4 weeks."

"5 days."

"…Fine, you shitty brat. But it won't be 5 consecutive days. Understand?"

"Ok, ok. No problem. Heheh…!" The blonde grinned. Two months to five days... This bargain beats having 50 percent off of ramen anytime.

* * *

After changing his clothes at the airport toilets, Naruto and his taller spouse made their way to the Uzumaki household to pay their respects to their elders, where he was subsequently _glomped_ by his mother-in-law and (more violently) his Tsunade baa-san. 

His grandfather merely scratched his head and picked his nose as he looked at the harassed newly weds.

"Yo, you brats are back... So, how was it?" The white-haired pervert wagged his eyebrows and gave them a familiar lascivious look.

After swapping the baa-san's hands from his head, the blonde frowned at _Konohagakure's_ number 1 pervert. "What's with that look? Stop it! It's disgusting!!"

This promptly earned him a scowl and a bop on the head. "What do you know, brat? So Kakashi! How was the honeymoon?"

Said man was trying to discreetly pass his father some _sake_ from the famous Water Country distilleries and erotica when Jiraiya posed the question. "Uh... it was fun. There were many hotspots for couples and loads of shops with unique items. Ah, there were a few carnivals there as well..." The silver-haired man edged away from his father as he saw his mother approach them. '_Suman, tou-sama_.' **(5)**

Jiraiya yawned as he ignored the elder Hatake's squabble and turned to look at Kakashi in the eye. "Boring. What? That's all you brats do in your honeymoon?? Oi, Kakashi... I'm disappointed... And I had taken so much effort to rush _Icha Icha Honey 2_... Tsk, you didn't really have to listen to us; just grope the br... "

The unexpected (or in everyone's case, expected) right hook from a busty blonde baa-san knocked the old man old cold before he could finish his dreaded sentence.

As the remaining occupants — Yaeko stopped whacking her husband about the liquor and porn novels, and Sakumo stopped yelling 'Ouch! It's a misunderstanding!!'; Naruto was stuck between being worried about the _ero-jii_ or thinking that he deserved it while Kakashi paled — gaped at the (crime) scene, Tsunade merely cracked her knuckles and barked, "Ignore him. Come, come... let's have dinner and _sake_!"

* * *

Naruto was quiet during the entire dinner of _o-nabe_ **(6) **and _sake_; Kakashi became the spokesperson for the couple whenever questions were raised. Though it was apparent that something was wrong, Kakashi had somehow convinced them that it was all due to fatigue. Naruto had merely smiled and nodded. Finally, the tension-filled (for Naruto) dinner was over and Kakashi carried the blonde (bridal-style), albeit a bit unsteadily as he had been exchanging drinks with the senior, to their room for the night. 

Seeing the bed, Kakashi immediately did an emergency landing and crashed onto the soft, fluffy pillows with the blonde crushed under him.

"Ge... Get off! Argh! You're... Heavy! Argh... You stink of liquor!!" The blonde yelled as he struggled against the deadweight atop him.

"Shush brat!" The taller man slurred. "Head... ngh... hurts."

"Argh! You ripped my shirt!!" The smaller boy cried once he was free. "See!"

Kakashi blurrily rubbed his eye and squinted at him. "Huh? Two Naruto...? Ah _mou_! Just get here, brat!" With that, he pulled the blonde into his arms, eliciting another scream from the boy.

Outside the room, two old men, who had been secretly following the couple and pressing two glasses against the door, grinned; wiped the blood from their nose and exchanged thumbs-up. Their minds were thinking along the same line — 'Kakashi... You've surpassed your old man.' Sakumo thought as he rubbed his eye; Jiraiya too, pressed a hand to the side of his eye to hide the drop of water (tear?) that dripped down his cheek 'Kakashi, the position of number 2 pervert is yours! Ah! I'm glad to have such a grandson-in-law!!'

Inside the room, said grandson-in-law, who had unwittingly become the _hero_ of the men in the household, hugged an irate but compliant blonde in his arms, dead to the awake world.

* * *

"Uh, do come in. This is my apartment. Since Naruto married into my family, we'll be staying here from now on." Kakashi smiled as he opened the door to his unit. Despite the cheery disposition he was displaying on the outside, he was feeling like hell inside. After all, he was still suffering from the after-effects of drinking too much... and his spouse was... his spouse was... 

He didn't even know what to describe his spouse anymore.

_::Flashback::_

The next morning, Kakashi was rudely awakened from his deep slumber when an incredibly shrill voice invaded his unprotected ear drums.

"WAKE UP! Wake. Up. This. Instant!"

'This shitty brat...' Kakashi mentally cursed as his obsidian eye peek open... to see a head of gold. 'Wha...?'

"Ungh... Hurry! Get up!! I can't hold it anymore!! Ah!! Hurry!! Idiot pervert! Stupid pedophile!! Get up!! Ungh... Ah! Your _Icha Icha_ series is on fire!! Quick, get up!!" The blonde yelled randomly as he kicked and flailed around, trying to break free from the vice-like grip the taller man had on him.

'Idiot pervert; stupid pedophile...?! Why this little...!' In revenge, Kakashi pinched the boy's... bottom. _Hard._

"Ahn! — blush— ...Oh no...!!"

The taller man realized what that 'oh no' meant seconds later when he felt a wetness seeping onto his lower body.

"What the...! ...Fuck!!" He cursed and jumped out of bed, throwing the now crying blonde onto the floor with a loud 'thump'.

Still sobbing on the floor, Naruto yelled, "_Dakara_! **(7) **I told you to let go already... Ueee...! This has never happened since I entered the middle of middle school!! Uee...!"

Getting a towel and frantically wiping his trousers in anger, Kakashi yelled back. "You should have said that you needed the bathroom! Instead! You screamed all those stupid things and pissed me off!!"

The boy was angry now. "What!?! You're blaming me now!! So you were awake then!?! You bloody pervert! Why the hell did you have to hug me so tightly!?! If you didn't then nothing would have happened!!"

Throwing the soiled towel and removing his shirt in anger, Kakashi increased his volume as well. "That's not the point!!! You should have..."

And so, the couple began the beautiful day with one of their infamous brawls again.

::_End Flashback_::

Naruto looked around the apartment and gave an appreciative whistle.

The apartment was huge.

The entrance opened up to the (dry) kitchen and the living room. The living room was huge and one entire side of the wall was occupied by a large window providing a good view of the park. The two remaining walls were occupied by three doors. The two doors — one leads to the bedroom, while the other a workroom — that faced each other had cute sign boards on them and the door beside the workroom leads to the bathroom.

The spacious unit was done up in light, warm colors giving the house a very homely and fresh feeling. On the face of on the larger walls hung the wedding picture of the young Hatake couple.

'Heh... When did he put this picture up? Hm... Strange. The impression I got from him is more black and white than brown and orange... Wow! He even used yellow for the kitchen!' Naruto wondered as he looked at the large sunflower mural painted on the side of the wet kitchen.

Jiraiya was having similar thoughts as well. 'Hmm? Since when did the Kakashi brat like all these colors...'

The different shades of browns and oranges were distinctly _Naruto_.

'He must have redone the house.' Jiraiya mused as he looked at the smiling but steadily paling (from the hangover) Kakashi and smiled. 'Kid, I'm handing my grandson to you now.'

On the other hand, Tsunade was pissed.

Naruto's weird behavior had been bugging her the entire night so she had spent the entire time thinking what the possible cause of his eccentricity could be. After lots of possible scenarios, she had finally come up with the most likely one — Kakashi must have touched the brat during honeymoon and threatened the brat to remain quiet about it! That must be why the kid was so silent and pale the entire night!! After all the suffering he had put her brat through, this wolf is still smiling and inviting them to look at the apartment!! Unforgivable!!

The elderly lady tore through the rooms, one by one, finally stopping at the bedroom with Yaeko trailing behind her excitedly.

"Ah! This must be the bedroom!!" Yaeko squealed and opened the door.

The three men smiled when they saw the décor.

Naruto squealed and together with Yaeko, dashed into the room, where the boy subsequently jumped on the large poster bed.

Tsunade froze when she took in the sight of the bed. Regaining her senses, she stomped into the room; ripped the soft, translucent silk curtains surrounding the bed with a 'What's this!? Arabian nights!!?' and tossed a few pillows before stomping out the room, leaving the occupants in shock.

The elder Hatake couple exchanged a look and Yaeko went out to the room in search of the other woman. Naruto took the curtains and tried to salvage and hang them up again... but in vain. Seeing the boy's clumsy (but cute) attempts, Kakashi gave a small smile and helped him as well. Hatake senior and Jiraiya looked at the (yet again) squabbling but cooperating couple and exchanged another round of thumbs-up.

* * *

Yaeko found the troubled 'grandmother-in-law' at the wet kitchen, terrorizing the cutlery and the porcelain cups with 'What's this!? A flower garden?!' while the innocent cups with a flowery theme glistened in response. 

"Ano... Tsuande-sama? ...Is something the matter?" The younger woman asked as she approached the hostile woman.

"..."

"I see. It's about Naru-chan, ne?"

"..."

"Tsunade-sama, I know that our Kakashi-chan may look like a perverted play-boy all the time but I can tell that, he's truly in love with Naru-chan. He might not have realized that... or might have noticed but refused to acknowledge it. He's a strange child but I'm sure he would never hurt Naru-chan in any way."

"... Maybe." Tsunade said as she grabbed a dishcloth and wrung it in frustration. "Maybe Kakashi would never hurt Naruto. Maybe Kakashi would be the best partner for Naruto. Maybe Naruto would be happy with Kakashi. But... but I've watched the brat grow since he was 6! I... He's like my grandson! I just wished that... that he could have a choice in this matter..."

Yaeko nodded sadly. "I... understand. But please... Please give Kakashi a chance. Besides, there isn't much we can do now, is there...? I'm sure Jiraiya-sama will be up to something if there's a problem."

The older lady sighed. "Yeah, that man never change! ...Fine. I'll give your brat a chance. But if he hurts Naruto..." She squashed the dishcloth in her hand, implying a similar fate for the scarecrow if he ever harmed the younger boy.

Yaeko nodded and smiled. "Don't worry. I'll help you then!"

* * *

Kakashi made sure his mask was secure on his face before he got out from the bathroom. Sauntering into his bedroom with a towel around his waist, he nonchalantly plopped onto the bed and closed his eyes, ignoring the glare from the other occupant of the room. 

"Oi."

It was ignored.

"Oi, old man."

Again, it was ignored.

"Hey, old man! Don't force me to take drastic actions!"

Kakashi opened his eyes with a mental sigh. "What now?"

"This is my room now."

"So?"

"So! Go away! I need to do my homework in peace."

"I'm not disturbing you."

"Yes, you are! Just being here is disturbing me!"

"Huh? This is my room too, brat."

"No. It isn't. Remember what Tsunade baa-san and kaa-chan said?"

"Uh-huh."

"So?"

"Hm, but I want to remain on **my** bed for a little while more. Just do your work. I won't disturb you."

"You're disturbing me! Ugh! And for Hokage's sake, wear some clothes!!"

"..." Kakashi pondered on that for a minute. Then he smiled wickedly. "Oh. I see now."

"...What?"

"You're disturbed by me."

"...Didn't I just say that, old man?!"

"Yup, you sure did!" The half-naked man got up from the bed and took a few long strides then stopped directly in front of the blonde. "I'm disturbing, aren't I?"

Naruto tried to ignore the cold shivers running down his back when he saw the look on the taller man's face. He felt that he now understood how the frog felt when he had put a snake (small but still a snake) together with it when he was in middle school, many years ago. It was all out of experimentation and fun but the frog had actually shivered. Now karma was getting him.

"Wh...What do you want?"

Kakashi lowered his arms and placed them on the arm-rest of Naruto's chair, effectively entrapping him. "Hm, what do you think, Naruto?

'Oh no...' The blonde sweated. "...Y-You d-don't b-be r-rash..."

"Hm... why not? I'm a hot-blooded male after all..." drawled the other man.

"D-Don't d-do it..."

The taller man was lowering towards his face now. "Do what, _Naruto_?"

When he felt the man's (covered) lips touching his neck and the arms slowly snaking around his waist, the blonde couldn't take it anymore.

"IYA!" The pencil he had been previously holding landed in Kakashi's scalp.

"..." Wiping the red moisture from his forehead, Kakashi calmly took the pencil out of his head first. With that (murder) weapon gone, he lost it. "SHIT! I was just kidding you, you damn pest!!"

Naruto spent the night bandaging his spouse's head and his entire monologue (Kakashi gave him the cold shoulder) went between apologizing profusely and defending himself agitatedly.

The third day after they had moved in together, school finally started.

"_Ittekimasu_!"

"_Itterasshai_..."

A new life for Naruto and Kakashi has begun.

* * *

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. 

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Major OCC-ness, a long chapter, bad language, revival of deceased characters, pathetic attempts at humor and fluff, as well as shounen-ai.

A/N 1:

(1) _Gochisousama_ : Thanks for the food.

(2) _Inori_-sama : A parody on KOF character, Iori

(3) Big bosom with little clothes : Another KOF character, Mai

(4) UFO-catcher : Arcade game where you control the directions of the claws to get the plushy you want.

(5) '_Suman, tou-sama_.' : 'Sorry (casual form or male form), dad.'

(6) _O-nabe_ : Japanese steamboat.

(7) _Dakara_ : 'That is why'/'So'

(8) "_Ittekimasu_!" : 'I'm leaving the house.'

(9) "_Itterasshai_..." : 'Have a nice day'/'See you'; said in response to (8)

* * *

**OMAKE**

It was the second day of their life together when it happened.

"What the hell is this?" Kakashi complained as he took in the sights of the dishes on the dinner table.

"Ramen!" Naruto chirped happily as he poured the contents from the pot into a huge bowl.

"I know that! What I want to know is, why are there 7... now 8 bowls of ramen on the table!?" Kakashi asked.

"Eh? For us, of course!"

"What? 8 bowls? We just had ramen yesterday!! And this morning... and afternoon as well!!!" The scarecrow growled.

Naruto shook his head and folded his arms. "Tsk tsk. Didn't kaa-chan tell you not to be picky with your food? Come, come. Sit down and eat."

The older man slammed his hands on the table. "That's not the point! Eating ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner may be your thing but I'm not eating this!!" He proceeded to clear the bowls from the table and wrapped them in plastic foils before depositing them in the fridge.

Naruto protested of course. "What are you doing!?!"

"Go change. I'm taking you out for dinner."

"EH? But I want ramen!!"

"...Fine. Just let me take you out to a place where you can have ramen and I can have something else, okay!?"

"...Ichiraku?"

"Yeah, yeah... your favorite-est place in the whole world right?"

"YAY!!" The blonde was so happy that he did a mini dance, consisting of wiggling hips and waving arms, then dashed to the room. "Wait for me; I'll be ready in a second!"

"Yeah, yeah... hurry up!"

"One 'yeah' is enough!!" Naruto grumbled but nonetheless changed as quickly as he could.

* * *

The meal at Ichiraku was always satisfying. 

After the 9 bowls of ramen for Naruto, that is. Kakashi just shook his head at the incredible appetite of the small boy and pondered on one of the mysteries of the universe, which, in case you're curious is, 'Where did all that food go!?'

As the couple walked side by side in companionable silence, Naruto suddenly looked up in the sky. "Ah! Hey! Hurry, look at the sky!!"

It was a shooting star.

"Quick, make a wish!!" The blonde yelled excitedly before closing his own eyes and clasping his hands together in prayer.

Kakashi took in the sight of the blonde and smiled. Then slowly, he removed his mask and gave the oblivious boy a soft peck on the lips. Then he quickly pulled the mask back up.

"Wh-What was that?" Naruto asked suspiciously with a soft blush on his cheeks.

The taller man shrugged his shoulders and looked away.

Baby blue eyes narrowed. "You... kissed me, didn't you?"

Walking away rapidly, Kakashi gave a vague reply, "...Maybe."

"...Die!" Naruto screamed as he raised his fists and chased after the escaping man.

'Only you can grant my wish, Naruto... My one and only wish... To hold you forever...'

**Later, at night...**

"Shit! You hit real hard, stupid brat!!" Kakashi whined as he rubbed his cheek.

"Humph! You're lucky I didn't tell kaa-chan or Tsunade baa-san!"

Kakashi paled. After a while, the taller man asked a question that had been weighing on his mind since they saw the shooting star.

"Hey, so what was it that you wished for?"

The blonde looked away. "Uh... ...it's a secret!!"

"Eh!?! Come on... Share..."

"No!! It's a secret!!"

"Come on... Or I'll tickle you!"

"Ah! No!! Stop! Ah!!"

It was a simple wish. One that could be granted by Kakashi...

'I want to see Hatake Kakashi's bare face!!!!!'

* * *

A/N 2: 

WOW! Thanks for the wonderful, wonderful reviews!! I'm really happy to see so much feedback!! Thanks a lot for the support! I'm really, really happy::hops around::

With this chapter, the second milestone is over. This means another long A/N...

Well, firstly, this story isn't going away from the plot, as a wonderful reviewer, Blue-Fox pointed out (Thanks for you constant support, Fox-san!!"). Hm, well, what I want to portray here is the contrast between the relationships of SasuXNaru and KakaXNaru. I actually like that part because I added some personal elements inside. ::blushes:: I think most people portray/hold themselves differently in front of their crushes and the people they truly love and this is what I hope to portray in future chapters through the contrast of the relationships. ::smiles:: I'm really happy with the different views from readers as well... Many feel sorry for Kakashi while another feels sorry for Naruto; and the rest... seems to hate Sasuke a lot. ::sweats:: That wasn't part of the plot but it was interesting. Once again, thanks for the wonderful suggestions and reviews!! See you next chapter!!

On the next episode: The game of Master and Slave starts! But who is the real master and who's the slave?? Also, Kakashi finds out!! Featuring Kakashi's accursed new assignment and a side story of _Densha-shounen_, Kiba!!

As usual, please R & R!!


	11. STEP 10 N Densha Shounen, Kiba

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei.

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore XD). Major OCC-ness, a long chapter, bad language, revival of deceased characters, pathetic attempts at humor and fluff, as well as shounen-ai.

A/N 1: "speech"; 'thought'; '_SMS/phone message_'

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**STEP X: Naruto, you what?!? Introducing Rin... Sushi versus Ramen!! Also, _Densha-Shounen, Kiba-sama _da — !! **

"Kiba, wipe that smile off your face. It's very disturbing to see that first thing in the morning." That was the warm greeting from one of his four dear friends, Aburame Shino. This was followed by a couple of nods from his two other friends, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji.

Kiba scowled.

It was just like his friends to burst his tiny bit of happiness and cause that little flower bud of joy (he was feeling poetic at the moment) to shrivel up into a dark clump of displeasure.

"Tch! What do kids like you know anyway?" He uttered, eliciting a few confused looks.

"Huh?" Chouji asked as he chomped on a health-bar. "What are you talking about?"

Kiba gave the three boys a (very irritating) smirk, one that said 'I know things that are beyond the mental capacity of you monkeys', before flipping the invitation for a _Goukon_ **(1)** in their faces. "I'm saying, I'm way above _this_. — referring to the invitation — Take this, kids, and have fun!!"

The three exchanged looks as they stared at the fluttering paper, and the retreating back of the canine-lover, and wondered what the hell was wrong with that usually date/female-obsessed boy that day.

* * *

Apparently, Kiba was not the only boy who was behaving strangely. The last remaining member of the group was acting weirdly as well. There was a good reason behind it though. 

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" The blonde asked.

The taller boy merely raised his brow and shot him an 'isn't it obvious' look.

Naruto scowled. "_Teme_! I know you're hugging me. But what I want to know is why. Class is starting in 5 minutes, you know? It takes more than 5 minutes to get there from here (science block). You're gonna make us late."

Sasuke sighed. "Naruto, have you thought about changing seats?"

"...Eh?"

"I don't think I can stand being so far apart from you when we are in the same room."

The blonde looked at Sasuke strangely. "It's not that far... You're just sitting at the direct opposite. At least you'll see me when you turn your head to the left."

"Yeah. I guess so." The brunette gave another wistful sigh. "Ah... Why can't I hug you like this forever??"

Naruto turned red. "Y-Y-You... stop saying all this mushy stuff..."

"Don't like it?"

"Eh... Uhm... I... Uh, that is..."

"Like it...?"

"...Uhm, that is... _uhn_." The blonde lowered his head to hide his burning cheeks. "But not too much..."

Sasuke chuckled. The bell rang. Hand in hand, they walked towards the direction of the classrooms. They figured that since they were late anyway, no one would witness that little act. Little did they know that every single moment they had shared had been witnessed by a pair of narrowed, stormy green eyes.

* * *

"Uchiha-kun! Why aren't you in the fields? Didn't principal Sarutobi give the soccer team permission to practise during classes?" Iruka-sensei exclaimed in genuine surprise; he had expected the boy to be practicing for the coming IH soccer matches so it was surprising to see the quiet boy around. 

"..."

"...Uh, okay. Go to your seat and settle down." Unsurprised at the lack of response from the usually stoic boy, Iruka turned to the other student and frowned. "Naruto, I need to see the excuse letter (for not attending the 5-day excursion to Water Country) from your grandfather. Do you have it with you now?"

Naruto shook his head and looked away. Actually, he had the letter. In fact, he had been proof-reading it not too long ago on his way to school, despite strict instructions from the old man not to open the envelope. Right now, though, the letter was in a crumpled mess sitting in the bottom of his bag. There was absolutely no way he could give that shit-excuse-of-an-excuse-letter to his teacher. 'That jii-jii... How dare he write such embarrassing excuses and ask me to pass it to the teacher directly!?'

Iruka gave a mental sigh. Naruto's tardiness was expected too. "Well, just pass it to me by the end of this week. Please remember to tell him... okay? Now class, I want you to open your textbooks and turn to page 340. Today, we'll be talking about..."

And lesson went on normally for Umino Iruka, English teacher of _Ha-Ou Gakuen_ and form teacher for class 3-9. Or so he thought.

Minutes later, Iruka felt his patience snapping when he caught four of his students not paying attention for the third time.

"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba! Take two pails each, fill them with water and stand outside!!" He screamed when he caught Kiba smiling suddenly at nothing in particular (he had been fantasizing); Sasuke throwing furtive glances in Naruto's direction; Naruto fidgeting in his seat and blushing for no reason; and Sakura's intense glances towards Sasuke's and Naruto's directions.

Caught, the four shot up from their seats — Kiba, in shock and slight anger at being disturbed; Sasuke, in displeasure but some mild amusement when he saw Naruto's surprised face; Naruto, in surprise and shame; and Sakura in embarrassment — took out the buckets from the cupboard and proceeded to fill them at the toilets at the end of the corridor. Then they trudged back to the classroom and stood outside, holding the buckets with their hands at a right angle to their body under the watchful eye of Iruka-sensei.

"I want the four of you to stand like this for the remainder of the lesson. If I hear anything, ANYTHING, no lunch break for you. Got it?" With that, he slid the door shut leaving the four with their punishment, each immersed in their own world.

English lesson came and went. Other lessons came and went as well. Soon it was lunch break. Naruto approached his clique the moment the bell rang and pushed them towards their secret corner in some deserted corner of the school.

He had big news to share today.

* * *

Silence ensued. If the situation was not serious, Naruto would have burst out laughing at the bug-eyed look on his friends' faces. Even the usually expressionless Shino had his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. 

'Looks like I just dropped a bomb.' Naruto inhaled deeply and sighed. "Yeah, so that's about it."

Kiba was the first to snap. It was the damn Italian-accented '_No_'s again. Must he always do that when faced with unbelievable situations?

Shino righted his shades and in his usual monotone, started doing what he did best (stating the obvious, of course) and repeated everything Naruto had mentioned. Well, the main points at least.

"So now you're actually married." He began.

The blonde nodded.

"But you ran away from your ...honeymoon and met Uchiha." He continued.

The blonde nodded again.

"Instead of being with Hatake-san, you spent the time with Uchiha. And now, you and Uchiha are an item."

The blonde nodded a third time, with a slight blush on his whiskered cheeks.

Cue in Kiba's disbelief. "No! I cannot believe this!!"

Shino was shaking his head as well.

Chouji was so shocked he actually the wrapped his half-eaten snack-bars and put them back into his pockets. "You and Uchiha...? I thought the two of you were enemies...?"

"Naruto, you what?" Shikamaru asked after processing the entire situation.

Naruto winced. "It... It just happened."

"You don't understand how serious this is, Naruto." Shikamaru, for the first time ever, turned very serious, more serious than Naruto thought he could ever be. "This is possibly the cruelest thing you have ever done in your entire life. And this includes the time when you ate 10 bowls of ramen and ran off without (paying and) saying a word to us, making us the vendor's free slave for a week."

At that reminder, the other two scapegoats cringed at the bad memory.

"Oh hell, that was bad..." Kiba groaned when he remembered the vendor. Even now, he could still picture that malicious face pointing to the incredible pile of dishes and the ridiculous commands to wash them without gloves. His poor hands were sore after that incident.

"It... it's not that bad, Shikamaru!" Naruto protested. 'It isn't really my fault anyway...'

Shikamaru folded his arms and continued his lecture. "It is. You're playing with their emotions and feelings. What's gonna happen to Hatake-san? Or even Uchiha?"

"I'll...!! ...I'll... ...I'll..." The smaller boy frowned. 'Oh yeah... What will I do with them...?'

"Well? What are you gonna do??"

"...But it isn't my fault!! I didn't wanna get married!!" Naruto defended. "It was an _arranged _marriage. Ero-jii scammed me into it!! No, ero-jii scammed that pervert and me into it!! The both of us didn't really want it!! At all!! ...Besides... Sasuke is really good to me... He really likes me. He has liked me since we were in first year!! He has liked me for that long!!"

Silence ensued. If the situation was not _that_ serious, Naruto would have burst out laughing at the bug-eyed look on his friends' faces.

'Shit. Did I just drop another bomb?' Naruto groaned as he buried his face into his hand in frustration.

Moments later, Italian-accented '_No—_'s 'punctured the air.

* * *

'It was a mistake to let them know.' Naruto thought furiously as he stomped up the stairs towards class. He had thought that they, as his closest buddies and people who know him best, would understand his plight and be happy for him. 'Well, guess I thought wrong!' 

He slowed down his steps and slowly sat on one of the steps and sighed sadly. 'Why? I thought they would understand... It... It's the first time someone told me in my face that they love me that way; that they love someone like me. Why can't they understand how important that is to me? ..._Shikamaru no baka_!! **(2)**'

"Uh, Naruto-kun?" A tentative voice called out, pulling him out of his melancholy.

He looked up at the source of the voice and his blue eyes widen in surprise. For the first time ever, Haruno Sakura, self-proclaimed number 1 fan of Uchiha Sasuke, took the initiative to talk to him, the class dead-last who has had no affinity with the females in class since he did a lame impression of the principal during a show-and-tell session in class in year 1, Uzumaki Naruto!

"Naruto-kun!" She smiled cheerfully. "Can I talk to you privately after school? At the science block??"

Naruto got over his shock and scratched his head. "Uh, sure Sakura-chan!"

The girl beamed then skipped away. "Thanks Naruto-kun. It's a secret date between the two of us!! Then I'll see you later!"

Naruto scratched his head. Then a thought struck him and he blushed deeply. 'Eh? ...D-Date!? Could it be... a love confession as well!?' In a daze, the blonde walked to class, wondering just what the hell was going on in his (love) life.

* * *

After school, Sakura headed to the science block first. In the end (after waiting for an hour and half), Naruto didn't turn up. "Uzumaki Naruto. I'll _crush_ you."

* * *

'I'll kill him! That sickening old man!!' Naruto fumed as he hopped out of the train and made his way to one of the club strips. 'Club One More Kiss. Here it is!'

_::Flashback::_

"So if you take this angle and give this amount of speed, you should get..." The physics teacher droned on about some oscillation problem while half the class dozed off.

Naruto was making progression towards Ramen-land when his cell phone suddenly vibrated.

"Uwah!"

"What is it, Uzumaki?" Asuma-sensei scratched his head and sighed mentally.

"Uh, nothing. I need to go to the bathroom!" With that, Naruto sprinted out of the classroom and cursed at whoever was calling him.

"Yo!" Turned out to the stupid pervert husband of his.

"...What?" The boy hissed. "I'm having classes right now. This better be good, you..."

"Come to Club One More Kiss after your classes end."

"What? What the hell is that?!"

"Don't ask so much!! You're my wife now so you had better listen to me!"

"You're not only a perverted man, but chauvinistic too!! And who the fuck is the wife!?"

"Language, _shounen_!" Kakashi barked before returning to that infuriating drawl of his. "Ho... have you forgotten about our deal, _wife-san_?"

"I don't remember promising you anything! Stop calling me your wife, damn it!"

"It's the 'You-have-to-listen-to-me-for-five-days' deal. I repeat, come after class. I know what time your classes end, so don't keep me waiting. Or else! I'll SMS you the address."

"Hey— !"

_Du... du... du..._ The scarecrow had hung up.

'That unreasonable, selfish, chauvinistic...!'

_::End Flashback::_

'How dare he hang up on me?! How dare he order me around! Tch! I didn't even have time to tell Sakura-chan not to wait up for me. That old man... I'll give him a piece of my mind...'

He slammed the door to the club opened and stepped in... only to be blocked by a huge, callused hand. "Excuse me, kid. Students are not allowed into clubs." A deep and thickly accented voice pointed out.

"I'm meeting someone here!" The blonde grated out irately.

"No students are allowed!!" The bouncer was one stubborn man.

Naruto huffed. "I already said! I'm meeting someone!! And he's in there already!!"

"And I also said, no students are allowed!!"

The boy was about to lash out at the bouncer when the commotion caught the attention of the _Mama-san_.

"Bobby, that boy is meeting one of our customers. Do let him in."

"...Yes, Boss."

The blonde stuck out his tongue at the bouncer, inducing a scowl on the man's otherwise emotionless face, and followed the _Mama-san_. When she took a good look at him, she immediately cooed. "Oh! You're such a cute boy! Kakashi-san never told me that you're this adorable!" Somehow, she gives off a very _Yaeko_-feeling. Naruto merely blushed and nodded his head in thanks.

"Ah, there he is. Kakashi-san is sitting at that corner with his friends. Just take a seat first. I'll come to get your order for drinks." The _Mama-san_ smiled encouragingly as she patted the boy's shoulder and went on her merry way.

"Ah, he's here, he's here. I told you guys that he'll come as long as I made a call, didn't I? Ahahaha... Oi kid, come sit here, sit here..." Kakashi patted the seat next to him.

Naruto made his way mutely to the seat and plopped down quietly.

"Naruto, these are my friends. Friends, this is my... wife, Naruto! Ahahaha..." Kakashi chirped as he grabbed a bottle of wine and chugged down its contents.

'Don't tell me... he's drunk?' Naruto thought as he looked at the pervert's friends. 'Well, at least they seem pretty decent...' "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you..." The two guys sitting next to Kakashi echoed.

"Ah! I saw the two of you at the wedding..." Naruto commented when he took in the long needle one of them was chewing while the other had a prominent scar on his face. "Uh... _Kenma_ and _Raitou_...?"

"Uh, no... I'm Genma. Shiranui Genma." The needle-chewing guy clarified then pointed to the other man. "He's Namiashi Raidou. You could address us by our given names, Uzumaki-san."

"Ah, please call me Naruto as well." The blonde bowed.

"Ah, so you're the rumored bride of Kakashi? Haha, you're really cute and gentle-looking like Kakashi described." A pretty woman commented as she smiled at him warmly. "Oh, do you want a drink?"

Naruto nodded. 'Cute and gentle? Oi, oi, oi _ero-otoko, _who likes _SM_ and commanding me around... what the hell are you telling your friends?' He shot his killer glares at the man beside him but the man didn't even flinch.

Instead, Kakashi raised his hand. "Oi Mama-san, give this kid a whiskey-water mix! One more for me as well..."

"Kakashi!" The pretty lady scolded. "How can you give a student alcohol!? Don't mind him, Naruto-kun. Ah, I can call you Naruto-kun right?"

The blonde nodded. "Sure, uhmm... Ms...?"

"Oh! Forgive my rudeness. Just call me Rin." The lady, Rin, smiled at him again then ordered a cranberry-apple cocktail for him.

"Thanks."

"Haha, polite too! Kakashi, you've gotten a very good spouse, haven't you..." Rin commented as she sipped her martini gracefully.

"Yup... Sure did. _Mama-san_! Another whiskey!!" Kakashi hollered.

"HEY OLD MAN!" Naruto slammed his hands on the table and stood up. Realizing the looks the other members of the group were shooting him, he sat back down meekly, like the rumored submissive spouse. Lowering his volume, he continued. "Uh, hey, stop drinking already..." Naruto pulled the almost empty glass from the man's hand and scowled.

"Tch. Just leave me alone, brat. Besides, you aren't supposed to be telling me what to do. I'm the husband, remember?" Kakashi muttered as he brought another glass to his lips.

"...So why did you call me here?" Naruto gritted. 'Must not strangle him. Must not strangle him. Must not strangle him...'

Rin blushed. "Ah, actually it was because of me. Well, I just came back from a break and heard that this guy is suddenly married. So I wondered who it was and wanted to see you... Is it a bother?"

The boy shook his head. "No, not at all... Rin-san. I just thought this guy here was pulling another trick on me..."

Kakashi's three friends stopped drinking and stared at him. "...Eh?"

"Uh, he always pulls tricks on me."

"Kakashi?" "Tricks?" "Always?"

"Uh yeah, he likes to tease me. Like that time, when I was doing homework, he walked around my room half-naked and dripping with water. And he won't even take off his mask when it was soaking wet... He knew I wanted to see what's under the mask but he purposely wore two/three masks all the time." Naruto explained as he looked at the oblivious man beside him.

"Well... that's unexpected." Rin uttered.

"...Eh?"

Genma picked up the fallen needle and cleaned it with a towel before chewing on it again. "Kakashi is considered the serious one in the group. He seldom teases people."

"Yeah." Raidou continued. "He always has this cool, serious, no-nonsense thing that got all the ladies falling left, right and center over him. It's surprising to know that he has that side to him."

"I-is that so?" Naruto never knew that the pervert had a serious side as well. He was always teasing him, walking around half-naked, laughing madly at the _Osaka _channels and reading porn at home.

"Well, he has changed a little though. Not as stern as before and more open now."

"Yeah, since Obi... uhm... never mind." Raidou stopped and looked at Rin apologetically.

The subject of their conversation suddenly shot up from his previous slouched position and sat ram-rod straight. "Naruto..." Kakashi began and turned to the boy beside him.

"Hm?"

"...I feel sick."

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The blonde shrieked.

* * *

"I'm sorry about this." Rin apologized as she helped Kakashi into the cab and sat in the front seat. 

Naruto shook his head and smiled at her. "No, please don't say that. It's his fault!" He smacked the forehead of the silver-haired man lying on his shoulder.

"I was the one who suggested a gathering. I forgot that Kakashi loves to drink excessively..."

"He does? I thought he has a low tolerance for alcohol..." Naruto was playing with the silver hair of his partner now. 'Hm, it's softer than I thought...'

"He had a high tolerance, actually, but it's been a while since he last drank, I guess..."

The scarecrow suddenly moaned.

"Oh no, is he going to throw up again?"

"Ungh... _Rin_... _Rin_... _Ki_... _Kissu_ **(3**)... _Rin_..."

"... ..." The two occupants in the cab were stunned. One was feeling embarrassed and blushing brightly while the other didn't know what to feel.

'What's this feeling in my chest...? It's like that time when I asked him about the people he kissed... Ugh. Chest pains... I knew it! This jerk would be the cause of my eventual death! Heart-attack at my age!!'

Rin released her seatbelt hastily and turned back to the couple in the back seat. "It's nothing like that!! Uh, Naruto-kun, please don't misunderstand anything..."

"A-Aa. Don't worry. I know it's just the pervert in him activating. I should apologize for his misbehavior."

"Oh. Well, actually, Kakashi and I... we don't have that kind of history. Well, I used to like him a lot but he had someone else then. Anyway, those are all over now so don't misunderstand anything, 'kay?" Rin smiled a bit sadly before turning back to seat herself properly.

"_Rin... kissu... kissu..._"

"Just sleep properly, damn it!" Naruto smacked the man's forehead again and shifted his head away from his shoulder. Seconds later, Kakashi hung all over him again.

* * *

"Ugh... you're so heavy..." Naruto grumbled as he tugged the taller man to his (Kakashi's) bed. 

Rin had offered to help but seeing how late it was — they had spent the entire evening and night in the club with Kakashi going in and out of his (alcohol) induced coma —Naruto thought it would be dangerous for her if she went home too late. Rin had smiled and ruffled his hair.

"You're a nice person, Naruto-kun. I'm glad you're by his side."

She had paused a bit, seemingly in hesitation about something, before bowing. "Please take good care of Kakashi-san. Good night." With that, she returned to the cab and left, leaving behind a slightly confused and embarrassed blonde with a half-drunken man on his shoulder.

'Hm, what was that all about anyway?' Naruto pondered as he tried dragging the man when tugging gave him a 5 centimeter (cm) progress, which is as good as none. 'Hm, Rin-san and this man seem really close... ...Maybe she is the one he was talking about...? Maybe Rin-san thought that the person he loves is someone else but it is actually Rin-san!! After all, he was just dreaming of her in the taxi just now... This pervert. Going '_kissu-kissu_' like a love-sick idiot...' He stopped dragging and slowly turned his eyes to the snoozing man on his shoulder. 'Love-sick... huh.'

The obsidian eye of the man opened briefly before fluttering close again. "Bed..." He staggered the few steps towards his bed and did a crash dive onto the fluffy entity contently... with the blonde in his arms.

Naruto cursed. "Shit! What the hell!? Don't just flop onto people like a dead fish!" He tried to push the man atop him but gave up after a couple of attempts.

'This gives me an incredible sense of déjà vu.' The younger boy sweat-dropped when he recalled the other night the man had gotten drunk. 'That's why I told him not to drink so much...'

"Hmm..." The silver-haired man groaned in his sleep.

'Wonder what he's dreaming?' The boy laid in his husband's arms quietly and continued to stare at him. Then an idea struck him. 'Chance! It's time to see what he really looks like!!' The blonde perked at that then slowly raised his arm and inched his hand towards the target — the despicable mask.

'30 cm... 20 cm...' A bead of sweat rolled down his neck and he gulped when his hand was just a couple of cm away from the piece of cloth. 'Approaching target...'

Then suddenly the man flipped over and the target was missed. 'Shit! Scared the hell out of me...' He got up slowly and made his way towards the door. 'Ah well... at least I'm free. Hm, one day, I'll see what's beneath that mask, Hatake Kakashi!!'

The blonde placed his hands on his hips and cackled manically as he imagined the day he would see Kakashi's full, uncovered face and take lots and lots of picture. He would be waving the blackmail materials in the older man's face and the man would go on his knees and beg him, addressing him as 'O Great Naruto-sama' and apologize for all his previous misdeeds. Probably even break down and cry while doing that.

A groan interrupted his musings and he frowned at the man before stomping to the switch and turning the lights off. 'For now... I'll leave him alone and prepare for class... Shit! I haven't done any homework!'

As the blonde hastily made his way out the room, he failed to hear it.

"Uhn... Naruto... L-love... you... uhm... always... love... uhn... _kissu_..."

* * *

His cell phone vibrated. 'Hm... SMS? Who could it be at this hour...?' 

'_Hey, where did u go aft homerm? Cldn't find u anywhere in sch... Sorry 4 not callin u earlier but demon-coach made me stay back 4 makeup. 2mr's match 1... it'll be a piece of cake but u wanna come n watch?_' **(4)**

Naruto bit his lips. "That's right... He accompanied me to morning homeroom so he missed practice for today." The blonde looked at the clock and his blue eyes widen. 'Already 12?! Did Sasuke just got home...?'

The phone vibrated again.

'_Hey. Can't slp. Can I call? Wanna hear ur voice._' **(5)**

'Sasuke...' Naruto held his cell close to his chest as an incredibly sweet warmth spread across his chest. He pressed the numbers and listened to the droning of the dial tone.

It took less than a ring.

"Hello?"

"...You surprised me."

"Ah... Did I? Sorry... It's because I was surprised too..."

"Eh?"

"Ah, well I was looking at my phone and waiting for your reply so... yeah. Hm, thought you were asleep actually."

Naruto chuckled. "Eh? Didn't know that the cool, awesome Sasuke-sama would wait for phone calls and SMS-es."

"Yeah well... 'cause the cool, awesome Sasuke-sama is waiting for a certain SMS reply from a certain dead-last that's why..."

"Oi! How dare you! I won't go tomorrow..."

"No-no... Come and watch. Don't you wanna see the cool, awesome Sasuke-sama in action?"

"Hahhhaha... You're so full of yourself! Hmm... Should I make a _bento_ for you? What do you wanna eat?"

And the young couple continued chatting till one of them fell asleep. Even then, they didn't hang up.

* * *

Kakashi thought someone had dropped an alarm clock in his head when he woke up. Along with that, someone had dropped a large drill as well. Why else would his head be buzzing and aching so badly? So it was with a very disgruntled mood that he got up with that morning. 

'Crap... Have to send the brat to school as well... Is he late already?' He went to Naruto's room and found it empty. Shrugging, he made his way to the bathroom. He gingerly touched his head and winced when the alarm clock and drill in his head went on advanced mode like a well-coordinated orchestra. 'Have to get aspirin...'

So it was with that intention, as well as a drink of water, that he staggered to the kitchen when his eyes caught something on the counter. It was a pile of assorted _sushi_ and _maki _**(6)**. However, it was the messiest _sushi_ and _maki_ Kakashi had ever seen.

His stomach chose that moment to growl. 'Ah well... looks bad... but might taste good...?' Besides, he was sick of seeing ramen in the kitchen.

He threw the pile of sloppily made food onto a plate and made his way towards the living room. Flipping the TV switch on, he turned to one of the local cables and made himself comfortable.

"Oh!! This is a very exciting day for _Ha-Ou Gakuen _today! Even though it is half-time, it already looks like the soccer team is well on their way to victory..."

Kakashi paused, mid-chew. '_Ha-Ou Gakuen? _Isn't that Naruto's school?' He turned up the volume.

"Oh wow!" The weird-looking commentator continued. "Look at the amount of fans for _Ha-Ou Gakuen!_ I didn't realize they had so many cheerleaders in that school... And they are all cheering for a... Uchiha Sasuke-kun! Ah, it must be the star player, Uchiha-kun!"

The commentator looked around. "Where's Uchiha-kun then...? Ah! Look! Look! He's sharing a _bento_ with a very cute friend!! Seems like they're having fun eating the sushi! Oh! And that cute friend was the one who had been cheering him on fervently in the first half as well! Ahh... youth is such an awesome thing... Haha... the two of them almost looks like a couple eating like that... Hahaha... Well, we'll report more on this event later. Back to you, Mizushi-san!"

An obsidian eye widen as the image he just took in replayed in his mind. Naruto and a brunette had been sharing a _bentou_. Naruto had been giggling and the brunette had been smiling. Naruto had blushed and popped a piece of perfectly made _maki _in the brunette's mouth. The brunette had smiled and ruffled Naruto's hair. The atmosphere between Naruto and the brunette had been very _rabu-rabu_** (7)**.

'So this means...'

Kakashi stood up from his seat and made his way to the bathroom to wash up.

A plate of smashed up mixture of rice, raw fish, and seaweed lay abandoned on the plate.

* * *

"Eh? Kakashi? What are you doing here?" Genma asked as he stopped his painting. 

"Hm, felt like doing something artistic..."

"Ah, is that so?"

Raidou popped in when he heard Kakashi appeared in the Art Institute. "Kakashi! Have you heard?"

Using the porn in his left hand as reference, Kakashi started his water color painting. "What?"

"You mean you didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"You're assigned to _Ha-Ou Gakuen_ as a graduating project!"

The brush in his hand dropped.

"Uh oh..."

**To be continued

* * *

**

A/N 2:

(1) _Goukon_ : 合コン, a short form for _Goudou Konpa_, a group blind date with an equal number of males and females.

(2) _Shikamaru no baka_: Stupid Shikamaru. Uh, I feel bad for putting this. Apologies to Shikamaru fans!

(3) _Kissu_ : キッス, _katakana_ for kiss.

(4) '_Hey, where did you go after homeroom? Couldn't find you anywhere in school... Sorry for not calling you earlier but demon-coach made me stay back for make up. Tomorrow's match (number) One... it'll be a piece of cake but you wanna come and watch?_'

(5) '_Hey. Can't sleep. Can I call? Wanna hear your voice._'

(6) _maki _: 巻き/捲き, have seen both versions before but I think the latter is the more correct one. Some people call them sushi rolls? Well it's just various food (cucumber, egg, fish, crab-stick, etc) wrapped in rice and then wrapped in seaweed and rolled up.

(7) _rabu-rabu_ : ラブーラブ, katakana for _love-love_ (often used by high school-ers) to describe a couple's level of intimacy. Kind of.

Thanks for the reviews. Actually, thanks for waiting as well and apologies for the late update... School is taking a very big portion of my time since mid terms for me are approaching. I feel like a surfer stuck in a sea of never-ending waves. But because I'm a lousy surfer, it's really terrible for me... Get the drift? No? To simplify, I'm drowning.

Well, there isn't much KakaNaru action in these few chapters but the next chapter would make up for it! Hang on there!

Up next! Naruto ambushed! '_How to tell Naruto...?_ – by Kakashi' First SasuNaru. Now, IruKaka!?! Will this ever be a KakaNaru story? All these and more would be revealed in the next installment of FIRST LOVE!!

And as promised (actually I just felt like writing a Kiba story)... this is the side story of Inuzuka Kiba, the _Densha-Shounen_ (Train-Youth).

* * *

Inuzuka Kiba was an average youth. He had average height, average looks and average grades. He had great friends and a nice, loving family as well as a few dogs. He was also a big animal lover, specifically canines, and loved to spend time with his favorite pet, Akamaru. He loves school, and though he was richer than average, preferred to take public transport to school, just like what he was doing at current. 

Outwardly he explained the reason (to his friends, family and anyone else who happened to be listening) for this was, to save his parents the trouble from fetching him to and from school but the truth was really because... the chance of meeting girls were logically higher when you go by public transport. Like all other youths, Inuzuka Kiba was a hot-blooded male with an (unhealthy) obsession with the female species and the concept of dating.

Unfortunately, these few years, he hasn't had much luck in that department; he blamed that entirely on his four great friends. However, he was sure that it would change soon, and the reason for that welcoming change was in his hands — it was an invitation to a _Goukon_.

'Hehehehehe...' Kiba thought as he smiled lecherously in his seat on the train. 'I bet there would be all kinds of awesome girls there... Though it's sad, I'm sorry, my friends... I'll be going alone this time.'

As he fantasized about the awesome results of the _Goukon_, a soft whimper by his side caught his attention. 'Hm?' Curious, he turned his head.

What entered his field of view (tunnel vision) was something that he would never, ever forget for the rest of his life.

It was a really, really cute (blushing) girl. That sweet little face was framed by long, raven hair, bringing out her fair complexion and her most amazing feature was a pair of rather unusual large pale-lavender eyes. There aren't many people who have such a unique eye color. 'Wow... so cute...'

The face of an ugly and drunk-looking man, next to the cute (but distressed) girl, entered Kiba's line of vision suddenly, snapping the boy out of his '_observing trance_' (which was really just openly gaping) and he saw red. That old, seemingly drunk man was inching towards the girl and caressing her thigh openly. It was obvious that those touches were un-welcomed with the way the girl was whimpering and trying to inch away from the man.

'Why isn't anyone doing anything?' Kiba thought, frustrated. Glaring at the man, he realized why. Sitting next to the old man were two strong-looking males, who seemed to be the pervert's bodyguards, and they were randomly shooting killer eyes to anyone who dared to stare at their boss. The pervert was becoming more brazen in his actions as he attempted to hug the girl.

'Like hell I would let him do that!' Kiba swore as he shot up from his seat and took the four strides to stand in front of the man.

Feeling a shadow on him, the man stopped his advances and looked up. "What? What dya' want kid??"

The intercom dinged.

Kiba gave the man a feral grin, drew his fist behind then slammed it into the man's face as hard as he could.

Before the deed actually made an impact on the shocked occupants in the train's compartment, Kiba grabbed the girl's hand and made a run for it when the intercom dinged again and the doors slid opened.

* * *

"Haa... Haa... You... Are you okay?" Kiba asked after checking that the coast was clear. He had thought the bodyguards would come after him but so far, everything looks clear. 

The raven-haired girl nodded then blushed when she looked down.

Following the girl's line of vision, he looked down as well then quickly released the grip he had on the girl's hand. Embarrassed, they blushed and looked away from each other.

A minute of silence passed later before the girl realized something with a gasp. She absent-mindedly stuck out her tongue then turned to the boy next to her and bowed deeply. "Ah, thank you for saving me on the train just now."

Kiba scratched his head and tried hard to resist the blush when he noticed how much cuter the girl was when she smiled. "Ah, that was nothing... Uh, be more careful in future."

The girl nodded and smiled shyly. "Yes, I will. Thanks a lot for your help... ...I shall be going now."

"Aa..." Staring at the girl's fading back, Kiba suddenly recalled a very important matter. He ran up to the girl and patted her shoulder lightly. "Hey! Wait!!"

"...Yes?"

"Uhh... that is, uhh... I uh... What's your name?"

Pale eyes widen then the girl lightly knocked her head with her fist in self-reproach. "How rude of me..." She smiled and bowed again. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata. Please call me Hinata... It's nice to meet you... uh...?"

"Ah! I'm Inuzuka Kiba... Call me Kiba... and nice to meet you as well."

"Ano, Kiba-san... I'm sorry but I've got to go for lessons now. Uhm, this is my cell phone number. Please contact me. I wish to thank you for helping me just now..." The girl bowed again, after slipping him a card, and then shot him a soft smile before rushing off towards the sea of milling people.

Kiba stood for a full 5 minutes, drowning in that bit of happiness from a cute girl calling him by his first name.

This was the beginning of his love story.

(Just a note, his good mood lasted all of 34 minutes and 56 seconds and swiftly rocketed downwards when Shino gave him the warm greeting, "Kiba, wipe that smile off your face. It's very disturbing to see that first thing in the morning.")

As usual, please R & R. (Throw me a float.)


	12. STEP 11

"Yo!"

"You're late as usual. Even though you had been the one to ask me out..." Asuma smiled good-naturedly and patted Kakashi's back while the latter scratched his head sheepishly.

"Yeah, sorry bout that. Drinks are on me tonight."

"Eh? Owner-san, heard that? Please open your most expensive wine selection. This guy's treating."

Kakashi chuckled. "Oi, oi, oi... taking advantage of your friend's kindness like that..."

"Yeah well... You probably asked me out for some heart-to-heart talk right? These are just the consultation fees." Asuma lit his cigarette, took a puff of it then turned to the smiling man beside him. "So... what's with your _yome-san_ now?"

His smile disappeared and Kakashi's visible eye widen in surprise. "Eh? How...?"

Asuma smiled at the rare expression on his friend's face. "Kurenai. She told me she saw you at Water Country alone."

"A-Ah... I see."

"And also because I saw Uzumaki — or should I call him Hatake now? — in school when the two of you were supposed to be out of the country."

"I see... He..." Kakashi paused, took a sip of his wine and sighed. "He wasn't alone, was he?"

"No. He was with the Uchiha kid."

"A-Ah... I see."

"Kakashi, what do you feel about him?"

"Hm? Hm... Don't know."

The chain-smoker narrowed his eyes. "Hey, if you do like him, you'd better do something about it. He is yours now, isn't he? The two of you are bound together right? Even if it was an arranged marriage, living together will create some kind of bond..."

The scarecrow shrugged and stared at the scarlet liquid in his glass before taking a gulp. "Not much of a bond, actually, we just went through a short _miai_, signed some papers and went on with the ceremony. No promising of love, no nothing. Our life together is platonic to the max — like a father and his kid or an elder brother and a younger brat... Nothing _special_."

Asuma crushed his cigarette. "What? Kakashi, are you planning on not doing anything? What if your parents find out? They'll be upset. Besides, you and the kid have come a long way right? He should feel something for you."

The silver-haired man chuckled bitterly at that. "The two of us have come a long way? You do say funny things, Asuma. Naruto... He doesn't even remember me. He lost his memories of me. He can't remember our time together."

"...What? Why?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Jiraiya-sama said his memory has been locked. Something happened to make him lock up various memories... just like the memories of his parents have been kept somewhere in his head."

"Hmm, so he does remember you but those memories are just locked up somewhere right? You just have to find the key, don't you?"

"Key huh...?" He sighed and propped his arms on the bar counter. "Would there be a point to unlock them, anyway?"

"...Hey, it's not like you to give up so easily."

Kakashi raised his brow. "What do you mean?"

Asuma smiled. "You don't give up easily on things you love... Haha, I still remember your escape from home to pursue photography and arts... Hatake jii-san was so pissed..."

The two shared a laugh as they remembered a scene long ago, when the two were still young and at the prime of their rebellious streak, where Kakashi was chased after by his dad all over the neighborhood for skipping high school and attending photography classes instead. Yaeko was chasing after the both of them and asking them to stop it and wash up for dinner. The three ran around the neighborhood for an hour until Yaeko threatened to throw out their stash of porn collection (Kakashi was already idolizing Jiraiya and his _Icha Icha_ series that time) and cut their expenses to the bare minimum so they won't be able to stock up. **(1)** Father and son had immediately surrendered.

"If you are still the Kakashi I know, you won't give up on that brat." Asuma smirked. "I'm not that easily fooled even if you deny it."

"I... I'm not denying anything..."

"Heh... So you know deep down that you have feelings for the..."

"No, I don't."

"..."

"I don't."

"... ...Yeah, yeah, whatever makes you happy. Hahaha..."

The two sipped their drinks in companionable silence before Kakashi spoke up.

"Ne Asuma, if Kurenai is engaged to someone else through an arranged marriage, would you let her go? Or elope with her??"

"... Eh?"

"Well, the two of you are in love but she has to be married to someone she doesn't love, would you let her be engaged with someone or elope with her? If Kurenai has to choose, which do you think she will pick?"

"...Uh..."

"...Well?"

"Kakashi... don't tell me you..."

The scarecrow shot his friend a reassuring smile and continued sipping his drink. 'If he's happy with that moody-looking brat, I'm fine.'

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**STEP XI: Heart-to-heart sessions with Dr Asuma and Assistant Dr Shikamaru. Spaghetti is just another ramen? Kakashi, a _sensei_!?! Also, Naruto versus Sasuke-groupies!?! **

"_Tadaima_." **(2)**

"Where were you?!? You were missing the whole day and didn't even tell me where you were!! It's already 12:30 am!!" A whirlwind of gold and orange streaked across the living room to the front door.

"Oi, oi... the husband is home and there's not even an '_Okaeri_'?"**(3) **Kakashi teased.

Naruto folded his arms and looked away with a scowl on his face.

"Oi, come on. Greetings are basic right?"

"..._Okaeri_." The boy grudgingly obliged.

Kakashi ruffled his hair and stepped into the living room.

The blonde breathed down his neck again. "So where were you? Why didn't you call me?? Why didn't you pick up my calls??? ...I even made dinner for you... And what's this? You stink of liquor! Have you been drinking again!?!"

'Should I be happy that he cares for me...?' Kakashi thought bitterly as he raised his hands in defense-mode and explained, "Ah, sorry. I left my cell phone in the car when I was drinking with a friend. I only drank a little this time. Hm, you were looking for me?"

"A friend...? Who? Rin-san?? Hmm... you smell of cigarettes too! Since when did you smoke??"

"Uhh... it's not." Kakashi sweated and stopped at the vague answer. 'It'll be bad if I told him I was meeting his Physics teacher, won't it...' So he tried a diversionary tactic.

"You said you made dinner for me?" Then he imagined what dinner would be and sweat-dropped. "Uwah! Don't tell me its ramen again...?"

Naruto gave him a suspicious look at the evasion but left him alone. Instead, the boy gave him a (victorious?) smirk and pulled him to the kitchen. "Nope! Humph... Tonight is the night where I'll show you that _ore-sama_ **(4) **can make food other than ramen." He drummed his fingers on the counter and with an exaggerated 'Ta — da!!' pointed to the table. "Feast your eyes on... this!!"

With a flourish, the boy pulled the cover off the plate of glimmering sushi; there were even decorations of parsley and small chrysanthemum around the slices of food. If Kakashi didn't know about _The Incident_, he would probably clap his hands and gave the food a 10/10 on presentation.

However, he did remember the scene from the television (dubbed as _The Incident_), and had since felt extremely sensitive towards sushi and soccer. Looking at the plate of sparkling sushi, Kakashi felt like it (the sushi) was mocking him and his face turned dark briefly before he recovered from that bad memory and strode to the bathroom. "Don't want it."

Naruto's victorious smirk immediately crashed and morphed into a cross between a gape and a pout. "EH!?! WHY? Days ago, you were just complaining about eating too much ramen so sushi is fine right? Even though I just got the hang of it, it should taste okay..."

"..."

The blonde banged his fists on the bathroom door. "_KORA_!!"

"Why do we always have to eat Japanese food? It's not like there's only Japanese food in the supermarket." The complaint drifted from the bathroom.

'...That's... true.' Naruto thought. After some pondering, he grumbled about picky eaters, and how people in some remote countries have no food, and then asked again. "So what do you want for dinner tomorrow, _Master-sama_?"

The bathroom door flew open and Kakashi strode out with that mask still on and in all his half-naked glory (Naruto was used to it). "Hmm... let's see. Why don't we go grocery-shopping tomorrow? I'll pick you up from school then we'll go. I'll prepare dinner this time."

"Eh? Really? Yay! No more getting scalded or burnt!" The blonde did a short cheer while the silver-haired man smiled.

"Ah, you'll be doing the dishes though." Kakashi muttered as he walked to his bedroom, breaking the boy's bubble.

"No! I hate doing dishes!!" Naruto protested.

Kakashi raised his brow. "Oh, is that so...? Hm, know what? ...Me too." He closed the door in Naruto's face.

"You ...!!"

"Good night! Kids should turn in early..."

"You! Humph!!"

Kakashi heard Naruto mumbled something outside his door, probably saying he's a pervert or something along those lines..., before the boy muttered a 'Good night and bad dreams!' then stomped to his own room.

The scarecrow chuckled at the boy's cute antics before lying down on his bed. 'Good night and sweet dreams too, Naruto.'

* * *

"So I'll come to pick you up later. Wait here for me, yeah?" Kakashi reminded as he dropped the blonde a street away from his school. Naruto had grumbled that it made him look '_kiddy_' if Kakashi had dropped him off at the gate so the silver-haired man suggested one street away — this way, he could see the boy enter the school safely and Naruto won't be teased by his schoolmates. 

"Yeah, yeah. You better not be late. Or else we'll be having ramen for all three meals for the whole of next month!!" The blonde threatened and wagged his finger for emphasis.

The silver-haired man sweat dropped and waved to the smaller boy. "Yeah, yeah! Get to school now..."

"Uhn! See ya later!" Naruto threw him a dazzling grin and a wink then dashed across the street, unknowingly leaving a frozen scarecrow behind.

Kakashi pressed his hand to his chest and closed his eyes. 'Shit. I'm really falling in love with that brat again.' He cursed mentally as he thought back on how cute the grin was and how adorable Naruto is, especially when he's angry. '...What should I do now...?'

The scarecrow flipped his cell and opened up his 'Image' folder. He looked at the 113 pictures he took of the boy (when he wasn't noticing, of course) and heaved a deep sigh. In his 29 years of life, Hatake Kakashi, once the top photographer in the country and a renowned 'lady-killer', never ever thought he would have such bad luck in his love-life department. 'I must have done something bad in my previous life to fall in love with a kid...'

Moments later, he cursed again. "Shit! I forgot to tell him about my attachment too!! Crap...!"

* * *

"Hi guys!" Naruto chirped as he half-skipped, half-hopped to his buddies, who were congregating around Kiba's table. 

"..."

The blonde was struck with confusion for a couple of minutes before the memories of before sank in and he scowled. 'Tch! I get ignored because of that?! It's not like it was my fault. Why can't they understand it?!? Fine! If they want to ignore me, so be it!!'

When lunch break came, his strong resolve about ignoring his friends was slowly crumbling. After all, the four of them had been through thick and thin since high school started. Walking slowly to the group, who were again congregating around Kiba's table, he spoke up.

"Hey... Uh, can I talk to you guys about something?"

"What?"

The blonde flinched at the cold reply but he continued. "It's just... about the entire thing I told you guys yesterday..."

Kiba raised his brow. "Oh? About your..." Then he lowered his voice to a mere whisper so only the four of them could hear. "...infidelity?"

This set the blonde off. "Hey! It wasn't that! There is nothing between me and uh, _Scarecrow-san,_ so what are you guys so mad about?!?"

Shikamaru put down his chopsticks. "_Gochisousama_. Naruto, let's talk outside."

"? ..._Uhn_."

When they reached their secret spot, Shikamaru turned his back to the blonde and stared out the window at the clouds.

"Shikamaru... I... Why did you guys have to be so mad at me?" The blonde started. He seriously couldn't understand why his best friends were ignoring him. Was the problem more serious than he thought?

"Naruto... what you're doing... isn't right. Have you ever thought about how Hatake-san or Uchiha would feel if they know about each other?"

"Sasuke will understand!" The smaller boy replied with conviction.

'How naïve...' The other boy sighed. "Fine. Then what about Hatake-san? His spouse is going out with someone else... You think he won't have any reactions to that??"

At the mention of that, Naruto folded his arms and pouted. "Humph. He doesn't really care much about me that way. He teases me and treats me like a little kid all the time. Besides, he has Rin-san anyway..."

He gritted his teeth when he remembered the pervert's behavior in the cab. 'Rin-san... _kissu-kissu_... That bastard!'

'Why is he so pissed?' Shikamaru looked at the blonde weirdly. "Who's Rin-san?"

"...His old flame, I think. Hm, I'm not really sure about their relationship..."

"Naruto. Just how much do you actually know your husband?"

"I...!"

He was about to answer that Kakashi was a flirt and pervert and a super slacker but he realized that that wasn't really the case; the meeting at the club had told him a different story. Sometimes, and only sometimes, the man could be very gentle and treat him really nicely. Like that time, when he hurt himself cooking ramen, Kakashi had floundered around looking for the first-aid kit when it was only a small burn on his index finger and thumb. Then he had helped Naruto in all the household chores (they usually split it 30-70, with Naruto doing the majority because he got home earlier) and even homework during that entire period he had the band-aid on.

Also, he never really knows what the man does for a living. All he knew was that the man was dealing with some arts subjects in the art institute, and that he's earning quite a hefty amount from other commission work. He has never seen the man associating with other people as well. He briefly wondered if Kakashi was just as flippant towards others as he was towards him.

'Hm... uh...' Naruto started averting his gaze and stuttering. "I, uh..."

'I knew it.' Shikamaru folded his arms and gave him a bored look. "If you don't know him that well, don't presume what he will or will not do, Naruto. And that applies to the Uchiha as well. If he likes you as much as you said, do you think he'll sit back, understand everything and do nothing?"

"But I..."

"Don't you feel that Hatake-san and Uchiha might be a little alike?"

"...Eh? What do you mean??"

The taller boy sighed and tried to resist the urge to ram his head into the wall. "Uchiha said that he liked you since our first year right?"

The blonde nodded.

"Did anyone of us know or even pick up on that?"

The blonde shook his head.

"You think that Hatake-san treats you like a little brat right?"

The blonde nodded.

"Did you know that he actually regards you as his equal?"

The blonde shook his head. Seconds later, his baby blue eyes widen. "Shikamaru, what the hell do you mean by that? How do you know how he treats me? In fact, how the hell do you even know who he is? I only told you guys about him; I never showed you his picture or anything."

'Shit.' "We met him."

"...What?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. "How should I say this...? Well, actually we knew him a few years ago... and met him recently when we were in Water Country. He told us about you... Uh, well the bottom line of what I'm trying to tell us is, they are really not what they seem on the surface and..."

The blonde interrupted him. "A few years back?? When?? How??"

"Haa... this is troublesome..." The boy grumbled under his breath before he answered. "Your husband is a pretty famous guy; you know that by now right? So the three of us were..."

He got interrupted again. "Famous? For...?"

'What the hell...?' Shikamaru _face-faulted_. "You mean you don't know who he is?!?"

"..."

"Naruto, I think you better stop meeting the Uchiha and understand your spouse a little more. You don't even know Hatake-san and married him?! It's just too... too irresponsible of you and unfair to him." The lazy cloud-watcher lectured, oblivious to the other boy's growing irritation. "You're being kind of selfish as well to just assume that everyone would be alright with what you're doing."

The _volcano_ finally erupted when Shikamaru mentioned that Naruto was being selfish.

"...Why?" The blonde stared at his friend angrily. "Why are you making it sound like everything is my fault?!"

"I'm not implying that; I'm stating what I think, from a third party's perspective. Isn't it better for you to understand the person you're living with before you continue anything you might regret?"

Feeling indignant about his buddy's behavior towards him (and also because he always has a vicious rebellious streak in him), Naruto shook his head and clenched his fists. "No ...I won't stop. I won't stop seeing Sasuke... It's not my fault! He married me without knowing anything about me too! Besides, he said that he doesn't have anyone he likes! And, and he's always teasing me and treating me like a kid... So why should I stop seeing Sasuke just because of that idiotic pervert?!"

Shikamaru stared at the silently crying blonde and sighed. "Naruto, do you really like Sasuke?" With that question, the cloud-watching boy left his friend to his own pondering.

'Because it looks to me that the one you truly like is really... ...' The lazy genius raised his head to gaze at the drifting clouds. "Haa... This is so troublesome."

* * *

"Hey." 

"... ..."

"Hey!"

"... ..."

"Alright, I'm really sorry. I was trying to arrange a different attachment with the admin jerks in the institute so I got a little carried away. But I really tried my best to get here on time. See? I was only 5 minutes late... You don't have to pull such a long face right? ...Hey..."

Naruto sighed and looked at the slightly fidgeting silver-haired man beside him. "It's fine. I just have some other things on my mind... Hm, so we're going to the supermarket right?"

"Yeah... which one do you wanna go?"

'No point brooding about it.' Naruto thought as he tried to cheer himself up. "Hm, I wanna go to the hypermarket!! They have more stuff there!!"

"Ho... I bet you just want to try the free food samples they have there..."

Caught, the blonde blushed. "N-Not really... I-I'm not that cheapskate..."

The older man chuckled then rustled the boy's hair. "I'll treat you to an ice-cream when we finish shopping."

"Really!? Wahoo—!!" Naruto smiled happily, his worries temporarily vanquished at the mention of food.

'He's really adorable when he's like that.' Kakashi thought as he made a U-turn and head towards their destination.

* * *

"Wahoo—!!" Naruto cheered as he ran towards the aisles and aisles of food. "There's even more stuff here than before!!" He pointed excitedly to the bakeries and ice cream stands at the corner of the hypermarket and excitedly waved his hand to his sauntering companion. 

"Here, here!"

Kakashi covered the remaining exposed 1/3 of his face and speed-walked to where his spouse was. Lowering his head to Naruto's ear, he whispered, "Oi, aren't you being a little loud? Everyone's staring at us..."

Ignoring the other man, Naruto continued to point at all the flavors of the ice cream and the toppings. "Excuse me! Please give me this, this, this and this. Oh! And all of those!!"

The part-timer behind the counter sweated. "Uh, are you sure you want all of those? It's a lot for you to finish... Do you want me to pack it for you for later consumption?"

"Ah, no, no... It's fine! We'll be eating it while we shop so it's fine. Heheh." And with that adorable voice, Naruto shot the part-timer an adorable, dazzling grin that left the poor guy stoning for a couple of minutes... until Kakashi gritted his teeth and ground out, "Oi squirt. Can you hurry? We're in a rush."

* * *

As Naruto happily spooned a mixture of ice cream into his mouth, Kakashi frowned at the confectionary and the blissful face of his companion. 

'That look... should be made illegal.' He shook his head to clear his hazy thoughts. 'No, no! I must get a hold of myself! I can't be brought down by that kind of cute, adorable smile!! I'm Hatake Kakashi!!'

"Hey, aren't you gonna eat your share? Oh! That's right; you're pushing the trolley so you don't have free hands huh...? Here, say 'Ah—'" A spoon of psychedelic colors was thrust into his face.

'Shit! This kid is a weapon! I'm totally sure of it!! Ah—! Shit! My heart's gonna jump out of my chest at this rate... And how can he use the same spoon!? Won't that be...in-indirect ki-kiss??' The strings of thoughts ran through the scarecrow's mind as he started perspiring. 'What to do? Should I eat it? Ah! I shouldn't have listened to Asuma. Then I would still be swimming in denial and not die of a heart attack so young...'

"Hey, you gonna eat it or not? It's gonna melt!" The brat whined.

'Argh! I don't care anymore!!' Kakashi yelled in his mind and took the spoonful of ice cream. 'Ugh! Too sweet...'

"How's it?" The blonde asked with shimmering eyes. "I love to combine the ice cream together like this. It tastes weird but nice right? Haha..."

"Hmm... yeah, uh, it's not too bad. So uh, is spaghetti okay with you?"

"Hm, okay! Heheh, it's just dried _ramen_ drenched in tomato sauce anyway..."

"_Ano na_... it's really unhealthy to treat all pasta as _ramen_, you know? The other time, you were saying that _lasagna_ is just uncut _ramen_ and _vermicelli_ is _ramen_ that was cut too thin and cooked too long so it's transparent... _Ramen_ this, _ramen_ that... All that referencing to _ramen_ is unhealthy."

"Humph! I like **_ramen_**. So there! Anyway, where are you walking?"

"Hm? Isn't this the way to the pasta corner??"

Naruto gave him a weird look; kept his ice cream properly then walked to the front of the trolley and stood on the rail holding the two front wheels together. "Alright, You'll push _trolley-san_ and me around while I give you directions."

"...If you fall off the trolley and get run over, don't put the blame on me..."

"Oi, don't curse me. Come on, come on... let's GO!!" The boy chirped excitedly as he hung onto the trolley and Kakashi wheeled him around the hypermarket.

"So where's the spaghetti?"

"Aisle 5!" The blonde chirped.

"Aisle 5 huh? Oh... here we are... Uwah! So many types..."

"Hey, hey, I want that one on the third shelf. We used that brand in Home Economics **(5)** before. It's nice..."

"Hm, that so? We'll try it then... Next! Tomato sauce!!"

"Okay! Aisle 9!!"

"Aisle 9... Here we are. Which one?"

"That one, that one!"

"Okay... next up, olive oil!"

"Aisle 14! Hurry!! I want to go faster..."

"You sure bout that? Okay... here we... GO!!"

"Wahoo—!!"

"Which brand?" The silver-haired man asked as he jogged to the shelves of rows and rows of oils.

"I want the extra virgin type... Uwah!? Kyaa—!!!! Ka, KAKASHI!!!!"

'Hm? He... Did he just call my name...?' The man thought, shocked and a bit pleased that the boy was finally calling him by first name. When he turned back to the boy, he (and trolley-san too) was gone.

"Huh?" To the taller man's horror, the trolley had rolled away. And the speed that it was moving was fast; if Naruto fell off now, the boy would definitely be badly hurt... "No... Naruto!!"

He started running towards the amok shopping cart, which Naruto was still clinging onto, but the trolley was moving far too quickly. And so, Naruto (and trolley-san) went crashing into the pile of canned tomato soup like a bowling ball speeding towards a stack of bowling pins.

The thought 'Ah, it's a strike' went across Kakashi's mind before he snapped out of it and ran towards his fallen spouse to assist him.

"Hey, Naruto, you okay? Does anywhere hurt??"

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow... Hurts... Ungh... Leg hurts..." The blonde whined as he rubbed a few tears away. He had been crying a bit when he was on the uncontrolled shopping cart and Kakashi hadn't been there to help him.

"Here... I'll help you up. Do you want me to carry you?" Kakashi asked as he gently pulled the blonde into his arms and hoisted them up from the ground carefully. He felt like crying when he thought Naruto was going to crack his head open on something or that he was going to be run over by the damn trolley. Damn trolleys. It was always the damn trolleys! (Refer to Chapter 5 for reference) Thank God that the boy was fine. And there was no way he was ever going to use trolleys in supermarkets/hypermarkets/any markets ever again.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" The hypermarket assistant asked hesitantly when she approached the two. "Hurt anywhere? Do you need first-aid or anything??"

"Uh, no... We'll be fine. Thanks. Sorry for making a mess and a ruckus..." Kakashi bowed as apologetically as he could, with one arm still supporting his blonde. "I'll compensate for this..."

"Ah, no. It's no problem. It's really not a problem at all so please don't worry yourselves over it. But are you sure you're okay? This _customer-san_ looks like he's in pretty bad shape..."

"Ah no. It's fine. Thanks for the concern... but could you help me replace the food that was in the trolley and bring it to the cash register?"

"Ah, it's not a problem!"

"Thanks." Turning to the blonde beside him, Kakashi frowned. "Naruto... can you walk?"

"Hmm... I think I sprained my ankle." The boy winced as he tried to put weight on both his legs. "Just give me a few moments... I'll walk a bit slower and... Hey! What're you doing?"

The boy flushed when Kakashi suddenly crouched in front of him.

"Get on. This place will be closed by the time you reach the cash register."

Pouting, Naruto climbed onto the taller man's back reluctantly.

"Okay... Let's go."

"You better not be touching me in funny places..." The boy warned as he tentatively wrapped his hands around the man's shoulders.

"Yeah, yeah."

"One 'yeah' is enough!"

"Just sit still, damn it." Kakashi ordered as he piggy-backed the blushing blonde all the way from the hypermarket to the car with everyone staring at them.

Yes, _Konohagakure_ has many nosy residents. But then again, it would be hard not to stare at a middle-age (?) man carrying a youth on his back in the hypermarket. Right?

* * *

**Late afternoon...**

"Ow, ow, ow... Be gentler..."

"Tch! I knew this would happen..."

"Humph! Your curse came true after all!"

"Hey, that wasn't a curse. It was common sense."

"No, it wasn't."

"Yeah, yeah..." Kakashi muttered as he tightened the bandage on Naruto's ankle.

The blonde pouted. "You could have held onto me, you know..."

The scarecrow paused in his actions as Naruto's words reverberated in his mind. '_You could have held onto me, you know...'_

"Hey? You okay?"

Kakashi gazed at the boy before him and smiled. "Yeah... I'll make dinner. Wanna help?"

"_Uhn_! Carry me!!"

"You shitty brat..."

'Yeah, I wish I could hold onto you forever too.' The silver-haired man thought as he piggy-backed the laughing boy to the kitchen.

**Evening...**

"Here, do up the tomatoes for me." Kakashi ordered as he threw a plump, red tomato at the boy. The tomato bonked off the blonde's head. Kakashi chuckled. Naruto glowered.

"You've done it now." The smaller boy growled.

"Eh?"

"_Doryaa_—! Take my potato of justice!!" A potato bonked off Kakashi's head. This time, Naruto laughed while the man rubbed his head.

"Alright. I guess this is it. This is WAR!" With a war cry, the two started throwing miscellaneous vegetables at each other, making a mess out of the kitchen and themselves.

An hour later, the two chomped on a large plate of spaghetti like starved animals.

"Hey, this last meatball is mine." Kakashi stated as his fork neared said meatball... only to be intercepted by another fork.

"Ish mine!"

"Swallow your food. Looks gross."

"Ah—!" The blonde opened his mouth to reveal the contents.

"Ugh! You can have the damn meatball."

**Night...**

"_Saisho wa gu!! Jyan-ken-pon!!!_" (Rock! Sisscor! Paper!)

"Yeah! I've never lost in this!!" Kakashi crowed victoriously as he waved his 'paper' in the air.

"No... Rematch! Rematch!!" Naruto wailed as he shook his 'rock' in distress. He really hates doing dishes.

"Nuh-uh. Gonna bathe now... See ya later, kid!"

"Tch! Lazy man!!" Naruto grumbled as he wore the rubber gloves and started scrubbing the pots and dishes.

Nearly half an hour later, he was still grumbling and scrubbing the utensils when a pair of hands abruptly wrapped around his waist from behind. "Hiiiiiiiiiii—!!"

"Hahaha... Gotcha now!" The familiar tenor whispered.

"Shit! You scared the hell out of me!!" Naruto screamed as he proceeded to throw the rubber gloves into the taller man's face only to realize that the man had taken off.

"Get back here! _Kora_!!" He screamed as he waved his fists in the air and took chase.

And so, the couple ran around the house — well, more like Naruto hobbling around while Kakashi continued laughing madly in his face and chanting "you can't get me" — until Naruto finally passed out on the sofa, fast asleep.

* * *

When Naruto woke up the next day, he found himself on his own bed. It was all well and good until he remembered something... he had fallen asleep on the sofa in the living room the night before. So the only way he could have gotten to his own bed, all tucked in nicely too, was through one person. With that thought, he slammed his door open and stormed outside only to see the culprit decked in a suit and ready to go. 

"Hey. Hurry up and wash up. You have 10 minutes. Go!" Kakashi muttered nonchalantly as he fixed his tie.

'I'll deal with him later.' Naruto thought as he dashed into the bathroom, spent a few minutes washing up, then dashed to his room and hurriedly put on his uniform and threw all his books into his bag. When he got outside, Kakashi was still fixing his tie. The older man was grumbling something along the lines of 'damn ties'; 'what the hell'; and other random things in a bad mood as he violently tugged at the innocent piece (tangled mess?) of silk sitting around his neck.

Rolling his eyes, the blonde stalked to the man, pulled him down to his height and started adjusting his tie. "There! All nice and dashing... Are you out on a date?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

The silver-haired man mumbled a soft 'thanks' and started adjusting his mask. "Date huh... I'm married to you, aren't I? This is because I-I've got an uh, attachment to go to..."

"Why are you nervous?"

"Huh? No, I'm not." denied the man as he adjusted his mask more. "Come on, let's get going."

'Pffft... Like hell he's not nervous. He's already adjusted his mask twice in a row.' The blonde thought amused but outwardly, he casually slung his bag over his shoulder and commented, "Kay... Hmm, you seem to be more worried about being late then I am..."

"Huh? Uh, just... it's not good to late."

"Ho... I'm glad that you know that."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever brat... Just get into the damn car." The scarecrow growled and adjusted his mask again.

'Tch! And he was so nice last night too... Humph! Stupid pervert. See if I care!'

The entire car ride was charged with a tension-filled silence. The tension was more on Kakashi's side, though, as he still had not revealed his attachment details to his spouse. He had long given up on practicing how to break the news to the combustible blonde because one way or another, the blonde was still going to explode, so all that was going through his mind right then was, 'He's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me. He's gonna kill me...'

"Hey, so I'll see you at home later. Good luck for your attachment then!"

"K-Kay..."

* * *

After parking his car, Kakashi made his way to the school with growing trepidation. His only hope now was that, he won't be assigned to teach Naruto's class. 

"Uh, excuse me... May I know where the administration office is?"

The student he was asking turned around and shot him a weird look.

Kakashi tried again. "Sorry to disturb you, but can you show me the way to the admin office?"

The blonde girl shrugged and walked away to join her friend, a pink-haired student and both of them looked out the field and started squealing. "Kyaa—!! Sasuke-sama!!"

'Sasuke? That's... familiar.' The scarecrow thought as he made his way to the window as well. When he saw who the girls were squealing about, his mind took a walk down memory lane and his face turned stormy. 'So that's Sasuke huh? ...Che! Just a brat. And moody-looking too...'

"Ah, are you the new temporary teacher who will be joining us today?" A kind voice jolted Kakashi out of his stormy (and biased) thoughts of the star soccer player of the school.

He immediately bowed and introduced himself respectfully. "Ah, yes. Pleased to meet you. I'm Hatake Kakashi. Please take care of me during my stay here." He raised his upper body slowly (because it had taken considerable strain carrying Naruto to and fro just the day before) and faced his co-worker... who was blushing madly for some odd reason.

"...Uh, nice to meet you, Mr...?"

His soon-to-be colleague blushed harder and bowed as well. "A-Ah, sorry bout that! I-I'm Umino Iruka!! Please call me Iruka. I teach English and am in charge of one of the senior classes. I like to go traveling, visit hot springs and eat _ramen_. My personal goal in life is to enrich my students' lives and my favorite word is 'faith'!!"

'Wha-what's with this guy?' Kakashi sweat-dropped. "A-ah... I see. _Ra-Ramen_... I eat those very often."

"Re-Really?" Iruka-sensei asked with sparkling eyes. "Then would you like me to treat you to one of the ramen shops around here? It is very popular and delicious..."

"A-Aa. Uh, before that, could you show me to the principal's office?"

"Oh, sure! Uh, can I call you Kakashi-san?"

"A-Aa..."

"Then can I..."

* * *

"Ah, Kakashi, you're here." 

"Yes."

"Ah, Iruka-sensei, thanks for bringing him here. But I need to speak with him personally..."

Iruka seemed reluctant about that. "But Kakashi-sensei might not find his way to classes later..."

"Ah, thanks a lot, Iruka-sensei. There is still some time before classes; I'll find my way by then."

"I see. Well then... please excuse me." Iruka mumbled as he trudged out of the principal's office.

When Iruka departed, Kakashi expelled a sigh and plopped down onto the chair. "Sarutobi-san, thanks for that."

"Haha... Iruka-sensei can be very... passionate sometimes." The principal chuckled and gestured to a stash of magazines. "I read the newest edition of Icha Icha Honey 2. So how's having Uzumaki Naruto as a spouse like?"

Kakashi furrowed his brows in thought. "Hmm... they are... ramen-filled days."

"Ah, I see."

The two shared a chuckle over that before the principal spoke up again. "No one else knows about this except Asuma and me. Oh, and Kurenai as well. So don't worry about it. However, Kakashi, no matter how tempting it is, do no commit any brazen acts in school. Understand? There are grounds to expel both student and teacher if it's found that they have a relationship."

"I fully understand. Thanks for your help, Sarutobi jii-san."

"Ah... don't mention it. Just get me the limited edition Icha Icha merchandise from your grandfather-in-law in future."

"A-Aa. I'll take my leave then."

* * *

"Why?" Kakashi sobbed as he tried to stop his hands from trembling. "What did I do to offend someone up there? And in the first period too!!" 

In his hands, a piece of slightly crumpled paper held his schedule and curriculum.

Under the classes list, there was a class that he had been praying he won't get.

It seems prayers were useless.

His mental thoughts composing mostly of 'He's gonna kill me...' turned to 'I'm gonna die...' and he gravely made his way towards the assigned class.

* * *

'Why did he look so nervous and pissed off just now...' Naruto wondered as he strode to his seat. Just then, a hand tapped his shoulder. 

"Hm? Yes?"

"Naruto-kun. You didn't show up." Sakura stated sadly.

"Ah! I'm so sorry, Sakura-chan! I had something urgent last minute so I couldn't inform you... I'm so sorry..."

"Hmm, that's okay. But can you meet me at the sports hall during break? There's something I wanna show you..."

"Ah... sure, sure. I'll see you later then."

Iruka-sensei walked in. "Alright class. I'm pleased to inform you that you'll be having a new art teacher for this semester."

"Hi. I'm Hatake Kakashi. I'll be taking you for Art in this semester. During this period of my stay here, I hope to build a rapport with all of you. Please take care of me as well. Thank you."

"Kakashi-sensei will also be helping the class on the coming carnival so you guys better treat him nicely..."

"Yes..." The class chorused.

"Alright. Kakashi-sensei, please give me a moment to take roll call."

"Sure."

"Aburame."

"Here."

"Akimichi."

"Here."

Throughout the whole roll call, Kakashi looked out the window and tried to ignore the burning gaze radiating from a particular student sitting right behind the class. 'He's gonna kill me later.'

* * *

'That bastard! He didn't tell me about it at all!' Naruto fumed as he made his way towards the sports hall. 

After Iruka-sensei finished the roll call, Kakashi had taken over the class, going over the basics in the curriculum then doing an ice-breaker game lamely called, 'Thinking Ball'. It was something like a game of a more passive dodge ball session, with a soft fluffy ball, and a game of IQ quiz. Whoever gets hit by the ball will have to answer a question by Kakashi himself. Winner gets to throw the ball and ask Kakashi a personal question; losers had to do a 'forfeit' — stupid things like, standing on the table and screaming, 'I love Icha Icha Paradise!' (Just a note, this was actually done by Kiba). Naruto himself had to sing a song about eating _ramen_ and _udon_ and _soba_. In the end, the only people who won were Shikamaru, Shino and Sasuke (dubbed 'The Formidable S-es' by some of the guys in the class who had to do embarrassing 'forfeit'). However, the three didn't ask the teacher any personal questions, and after class, the older man had taken off.

'And he dare to make me do such an embarrassing thing!? Does he really treat me as his equal!? I'm definitely skinning him when I get home!'

"Ah, Naruto-kun, you're here!" Sakura chirped when he stepped into the hall.

"Uh yeah... Uh, Ino-san is here as well... and the others too..." Naruto muttered. 'This is unexpected.'

"Oh yeah. Well actually, we wanted to meet you because we know about something interesting... and it's with regards to Sasuke-sama." Ino spoke in her usual conceited tone.

"Huh? What about Sasuke?"

A resounding slap echoed in the empty hall.

"Don't call Sasuke-sama so casually!" Sakura gritted, her hand still in mid-air after it made impact with naruto's cheek.

"...Sakura-chan...?" Pressing a hand to his burning cheek, Naruto turned confused eyes to his assaulter.

"Don't call me so casually too! In fact, don't appear in front of us anymore, you freak!!"

"...What?"

* * *

On a field just a few kilometers away, Kakashi stopped in front of a raven-haired boy who was diligently practicing his ball-handling. 

"So, you're Uchiha Sasuke huh?"

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

"...Was the sushi delicious?"

"...Eh?"

"...The sushi. Was it delicious??"

"I don't understand..."

"Is that so? Never mind then. Continue playing ball and work hard for the IH..." Kakashi turned and left, leaving behind a thoroughly confused brunette behind. "...brat."

* * *

**:To Be Continued: **

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. As mentioned in Chapter I, the plot was adapted from a movie (Korean, I think) called Young Bride (I think). Please check out the movie because the lead actress is very cute. :)

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore). OCC-ness, pathetic attempts at humor, revival of deceased characters and shounen-ai.

Notes:

(1) In the average Japanese family, with the father as the salary-man and the mother as the home-maker, it is common for the father to give his earnings to his wife for home expenses and other things, so the wife is usually the financial controller in the household.

(2) _Tadaima_ – I'm home.

(3) _Okaeri_ – Welcome home. In response to (2).

(4) _Ore-sama_ – A conceited way to address yourself. Mostly (Always, actually) used by guys.

(5) Home Economics – A class where you're taught to do domestic stuff, like cooking and sewing classes mostly. Nothing much to do with Economics really.

(6) Hypermarkets are gigantic markets like Walmart. They sell everything from groceries to car spare parts (?!). And the 'trolley's mentioned has a double meaning because in some countries (like mine), we call it shopping trolley and in some other countries, they are called shopping carts; and those larger ones that are used in small-scale logistics are also called trolleys (the one in Chapter 5).

A/N:

Uwah! This chapter had been very tiring but fun to write. I hoped you guys had just as much fun reading it. Thanks for the reviews. It was... ...heart-warming to see so many readers sympathizing with Kakashi. But don't worry. KakaNaru will prevail! —waves banner—

In the next installment: ... Argh! Iruka-sensei is so persistent!! Kakashi has to go back for re-service? Since when was he a military man? Also, Naruto finally acts the part of the wife. All these and more revealed in the next chapter!! So stay tuned!!

As usual, R & R are welcome. Don't be shy!


	13. STEP 12

"Sakura-chan... Why...? How...?" Naruto stammered as he rubbed the sore spot on his cheek. He was still in a state of mild shock. Who wouldn't?

Sakura seemed to have made a 180 degrees change all in a span of a few minutes. Well, not really. From the years that Naruto had known her, his impression of her was that she was mostly a sweet person; a tad mean sometimes and always obsessive over Sasuke but otherwise, she was quite cute. Now though, she was downright evil looking!

The pink-haired girl folded her arms and shot him a venomous glare. "Humph! How could you cling onto Sasuke-sama like that in broad daylight?"

"I..."

Ino folded her arms and shot him a glare as well. "Humph! Sticking to Sasuke-sama like a leech... Have you no shame?!"

The remaining cronies folded their arms and glared too. "Humph! And you're a boy too! Stop sullying our pure Sasuke-sama!!"

'Leech... Sullying... _Sasuke-sama, Sasuke-sama,_ _urusai-ttebayo_! **(1)**' Naruto felt like screaming but he kept it in, which in turn made him feel extremely constipated mentally and he briefly felt his irritation and blood pressure rising. He took a deep breath and counted to five then tried to reason with the girls. After all, guys were supposed to give into girls.

"Sasuke..." The girl bullies shot him an evil glare and he hurriedly amended the address. "I mean, Sasuke-_sama_ and I are with each other because we like each other... Is this the reason you asked me to come out here, Sakura-ch... Sakura?"

"Of course! Why else would I look for you?! Humph! Who would believe that Sasuke-sama likes you?! Stop telling these kinds of lies to sully his name!! If you know what's good for you, stop seeing Sasuke-sama!" The pink-haired girl proclaimed, with a hand resting on her hips.

'Sully... again!?' Naruto gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in suppressed anger. "Okay, fine. Why don't you look for your dear Sasuke-sama if you don't believe me?"

Ino puffed her cheeks and said in a matter-of-fact way. "That's because Sasuke-sama is busy training for the coming competitions!" Then her blue eyes suddenly turned dreamy. "Besides... Sasuke-sama is a generous, chivalrous and big-hearted person; he would help you at the cost of himself!"

'...That's because he likes me, you twits!' Inner-Naruto raged but outwardly he rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly. "Okay. Ask him after the competitions then. In the mean time, leave me alone."

As he turned to leave, he was suddenly tugged back roughly by the girls. "No! You can't leave yet!!"

"Promise us you'll not see him again!" They stuck their pinky in front of him. **(2)**

Naruto sighed irritatedly. This was a total waste of his time and extremely detrimental to his health; he could almost feel his blood vessels bursting from the repressed anger and his pressure was almost reaching the limit. "Look... I've already told you guys the truth. It doesn't matter whether you believe it or not but no one tells _Uzumaki-sama_ what to do."

They ignored his proclamation and thrust their pinky closer to his face. "Promise us you won't see him again! Or else!!"

'This is utterly hopeless.' Naruto thought. "... I'm leaving."

Turning his back on them, he strode out of the deserted sports hall with his head held high. He thought he did pretty well against the girl bullies and not losing his temper from their insults. He heard a shrill scream behind him but before he could turn around to witness which groupie it was who screamed like a banshee, he felt a sharp pain at the back of his skull.

'...Ouch.' He winced as he slowly turned around to glare at them. 'That's it! No one gets away with insulting AND ambushing Uzumaki-sama like that!'

The fight which would later be known as the Pansy Fight of Uzumaki Naruto (named by a certain spouse of the blonde) began with a war cry from the girl bullies and the spunky 'victim'.

* * *

"Humph! Stupid brat... Moody-looking, poser kid... What's so good about him? Tch! Spaghetti is way closer to ramen than sushi is to ramen!!!(??)" Kakashi mumbled to himself as he took large strides away from the (confused) 'adulterer'. He scratched his mask annoyedly and grumbled aloud. "Tch! I shouldn't be feeling pissed... Yeah, I shouldn't be feeling pissed. After all, it would be impossible for ramen to like spaghetti because they are from different countries... ...But still, why should ramen be with sushi!? There's udon, soba and other noodles to choose from! Why did it have to be such a ...brat-like sushi!?! How the hell is spaghetti gonna fight if it's a different type of food!?! That shitty brat midget too!! Giving me so many headaches and being dishonest..." He imagined Naruto's face in front of him and tried to strangle imaginary Naruto's neck. It didn't matter that those headaches were self-induced or that the blonde wasn't really being dishonest (technically); the older man was just plain pissed. 

Just then, he heard a loud banshee-like wail coming from a building off the field. "What the!?!?!" His hands paused in mid-air and he looked around to see if anyone had witnessed his momentary insanity (he imagined he'll look pretty stupid and a bit disturbing if he was seen strangling air particles) when a loud scream pierced the air, followed by another scream. 'That voice... Naruto?!' A little spooked but extremely curious and worried, he made his way tentatively to the building.

* * *

Kakashi wondered if he should laugh or stop the insanity before his eyes. Naruto was fighting with a bunch of girls. Two of them, he recognized as Poser-Boy's groupies. He knew that violence was supposed to be bad and not funny but the way the group of them was fighting was too hilarious. It was like a mix between a group of _obaa-san_ fighting over the last piece of beef at the supermarket during the closing hours **(3)** and a group of very pansy American-footballers wrestling around. They were just grappling at each other's shirts and hair and having these determined expressions on their faces. 

Kakashi briefly wondered what they were fighting about. He was startled out of his mental processes when the girls started doing a dog-pile on the blonde. 'Shit!'

However, before he could yell at the bunch of crazy groupies to stop, he was beaten by a familiar voice, laced with anxiety.

"Na-Naruto?!?! Hey! HEY!! STOP!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO NARUTO!?!"

The fighting immediately ceased.

It was Sakura who first snapped out of her shock and shame. "S-Sasuke-sama...?"

Apparently, Sasuke had been near the building to return some of the equipment to the storage room when he heard the sounds of scuffling and Naruto's voice. Said brunette immediately rushed towards the scene, pulled some of the still shell-shocked girls away from the pile and gently helped the crushed blonde to his feet.

"Naruto? Naruto... are you okay?" The taller boy gently patted the blonde's head and inspected his face and hands for bruises. Then he turned stormy obsidian eyes to the girls. "What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?"

"..." Silence echoed throughout the hall. The girls bent their head, afraid to see the anger in those dark eyes.

"Sasuke... I'm okay." Naruto flexed his arms and gave him a 'victory' sign. "See?"

The brunette ignored the blonde in his arms. "I asked you, what do you think you are doing?"

Ino meekly raised her gaze to meet her idol's. "We... We just wanted to help Sasuke-sama."

The Uchiha raised his brow. "Help me?"

Sakura nodded her head and raised her gaze as well. "I saw him clinging onto you before homeroom the other day! I thought he was harassing you! So I just wanted to help you get rid of him... It's not as if Sasuke-sama will ever like someone like him..."

"Well..." The boy began. "You thought wrong." The brunette made his point by hugging the smaller boy to his body and sneered at his fans. "This is the relationship between him and me. Watch..." With that, he held Naruto's chin and pulled the blonde's face closer to his, then he slowly pressed his lips to the blonde's.

Sakura fainted. Ino's eyes became instant waterworks. The remaining cronies were a mix between Sakura's reaction and Ino's. One could faintly hear the shattering of their glass hearts if one was in the near vicinity. However, the one who was most affected had already left the scene.

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**STEP XII: Heart Break and Waterworks... A Persistent Dolphin... The forest elf is not such a bad guy after all, just very persistent... And Naruto's Not a Kid!!**

Kakashi walked to the staff room in a very detached state. He thought he heard his heart shatter when he saw the kiss between his spouse and Sasuke. 'Someone up there really hates me...' He thought glumly as he stood outside the staff room still in a daze. 'Why?'

The silver-haired man bent his head in his depression. 'Why?! What am I to do?'

"Uh, well, for starters, you could slide open the door and walk into the room...?"

"... Huh?"

Kakashi turned behind to see who it was who spoke up. It was Kurenai. The usually stern-looking woman looked pretty amused for some reason.

Tucking his depression deep into the recesses of his heart (and mind) for later use (?), he pasted on his usual smile and saluted to the woman in greeting. "Yo. Fancy seeing you here..."

Kurenai's amused look melted and she threw him a weird look. "I work here... ...So?"

"Huh?"

"Why, what? Do what?"

"What do you mean?"

"...Hm? Didn't you mumbled, 'why' and 'what am I to do' just now?"

"Huh? I did? Uh, I said it out loud?"

"Why Kakashi... I never knew you were the type to hold inner monologues out loud."

"Ah... Well, now you know. Uh, just don't tell anyone okay?" The man scratched his head sheepishly and Kurenai chuckled.

Just then, the door slid open to reveal Iruka-sensei.

"Ka-Kakashi-sensei!! What a... What a pleasant surprise!!" The shorter man exclaimed with sparkles in his eyes and two red spots on his cheeks.

"A-Aa... Iruka-sensei. Nice to see you here too."

The English teacher blushed deeper and giggled (!?!) a bit before raising his head to meet the taller man's gaze. "Uh, since its lunch now, do you want to have lunch together? I can show you around..."

"It's ok... I uh, kinda uh..." He looked in the direction of Kurenai, who was looking at the two in curiosity, with his obsidian eye screaming out the following commands: 'help', 'help please' and 'Help Me Please'. The woman recognized all the commands (the blinking was like some kind of Morse code and besides, anyone could recognize the need for help when one sees it) but thought the situation was interesting and possibly entertaining, so she averted her eyes away from the line of vision and pretended not to notice the SOS signal from the scarecrow.

"Ah, that's right! Iruka-sensei would be a good guide for you, Kakashi. Well then, I have to go now. Have fun!" She smiled, eyes creasing up into happy crescents so that she wouldn't see the scowl burning on her friend's face.

'It'll be fun to see how things go from here...' The unexpectedly sadistic female teacher smiled inwardly as she slid opens the door and entered the staff room. 'I have to tell Asuma later!!'

'That traitor...!' Kakashi cursed when he realized that Kurenai was not reading his signal on purpose. All of them knew his 'help' signals. In the past, Kakashi had developed these signals so that he could get away with all his unintentional flirting and 'women troubles'. Also, in the past, all of them gave him a hand because he was such an awesome friend... Well, there was also the other reason that if they left him to die, they would be interrogated and mashed up by him later on but that's not the point. The point is, Kurenai is leaving him in the hands of a wolf! How could she betray him!?

'Tch! She's probably waiting to see what Iruka is going to do to me then tell Asuma, that witch!'

Iruka-sensei giggled again, pulling Kakashi out of his mental swearing, and tugged Kakashi's arm towards the direction of the cafeteria. "Oh come on now, don't be shy... We're colleagues now anyway." Then in a softer voice, he murmured, "And we'll probably get to know each other better later on."

"Eh? What was that?" Kakashi asked; a suspicious look on his face.

"Oh no, it's nothing! Don't worry bout it!! I was just wondering if they have any ramen for lunch today..." Iruka laughed, effectively dispelling the Art teacher's guards for now. Then he increased his speed. "We better hurry before the miso and Oriental ones are gone..."

* * *

"Uchiha Sasuke! How could you do this to us?!" Sakura snapped when she awoke a couple of minutes after fainting. 

The brunette smirked, still holding a red-faced Naruto in his arms, and raised a brow. "Whatever do you mean?"

"How could you treat us like this!? We were so good to you... and loyal to you too! We really like you!!" Sakura screamed.

The boy shrugged his shoulders indifferently and replied, "Well... I never asked any of you to good or loyal to me... or even like me."

Sakura thought she heard something snapped within her and she turned hate-filled eyes to the couple standing before her. Guess that saying about love and hate being separated by a thin line or something along the lines was pretty true in this case. Otherwise, why else would Sakura feel such a hot burning rage boiling within her?

"Uchiha Sasuke! You watch it! How dare you say such a heartless thing!? And you!" She pointed her perfectly manicured fingers, with tiny Uchiha motifs painted on her nails, at Naruto and screamed, "It's all your fault! I hope you never find true love ever in this life time or the next!! Humph! Ino... and the rest of you, let's go!"

"You okay?" Sasuke turned to the smaller boy and gently brushed some dirt away from his shoulders when the last of the bullies cleared out of the hall. Naruto nodded and dusted himself as well. "Good. Next time they find fault with you, you come and look for me, understand?"

The blonde frowned and pulled out of the boy's embrace. "No, that's not necessary. I can take care of myself, Sasuke... You really shouldn't have said those things to them. That was unnecessary..."

"They were being ridiculous. Bullying you like that was wrong."

"Yeah, but you didn't have to say those things to them... Wasn't it a bit cruel?"

Sasuke scowled. "Are you defending them? After what they did to you??"

"Yeah well, what they did to me is no big deal. I wasn't really affected by it... it was more annoying than hurting, really. But they were really hurt by your words. Imagine. Their idol, the person they have admired and liked for so long, being so indifferent and saying those words to them... and k-kissing a boy in front of them like that..." Naruto reasoned.

He really meant every word he said.

If he was Sakura or any one of those cronies, his heart would surely be breaking... Speaking of kissing, his mind briefly went to the silver-haired man.

He wondered if Kakashi and Rin had ever kissed. Then the thought made him inexplicably furious for some reason and he took deep breaths to calm himself. Oh yeah, that silver-haired man still had some explaining to do for landing up in his school and he didn't even have tell him even though they see each other everyday!!

The blonde took more deep breaths to cool down.

"...Are you angry?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked at the other boy and tilted his head quizzically. "Uh, for...?"

"For kissing you like that... I know you hate public displays of affection yet I did such a thing..." The taller boy looked extremely guilty and a tad worried for making his most important person angry.

Naruto stared at the fidgeting fingers and nervous glances Sasuke was shooting him and his gaze softened. 'Sasuke... you really like me that much...'

"_Naruto, do you really like Sasuke?"_ Shikamaru's words floated in his mind and his cerulean eyes widen.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you."

"Huh... that's good then."

"Sasuke... do you..."

"Hm?"

"...Never mind."

The boy shot him a look then grabbed his hand and walked towards the exit. "I'm hungry. Let's grab some sushi."

Naruto laughed and poked the Uchiha. "Since when did the cafeteria sell sushi? Besides I prefer to eat ramen..."

Sasuke made a disgusted face. "Again? _Ramen_ this, _ramen_ that... All that _ramen_ is unhealthy."

"That sounds vaguely familiar... Oh well, let's have some spaghetti then! It'll be nice if our school sells other stuff that's non-Japanese. It'll be cool if we can eat steak and ramen together!"

"Hm, yeah... I never thought you were the 'international' type of person."

"Haha, yeah... but spaghetti is really delicious! I had some the other night and... "

* * *

Kakashi thought he could die of embarrassment. "Uh, Iruka-sensei... the other students are watching." 

"Oh, don't worry about them, Kakashi-sensei... they're just jealous. Here, say 'Ah...'" The English teacher held the spoon of ramen closer to the Art teacher's face. This way, he could get to be on closer terms with Kakashi and also see what he looks like under that mask!

The silver-haired man turned his head away and tried to sit away from the persistent teacher. "Uh, Iruka-sensei... I really don't think this is such a good idea..."

"Oh, don't be shy, Kakashi-sensei..." The dolphin smiled warmly.

"Uh..." Inside, Kakashi was sobbing. 'Somebody... save me!' screamed Inner-Kakashi. Suddenly the spoon of ramen was gone.

"Hm... this is really good. What flavor is this, Iruka-sensei?" A familiar voice spoke up.

'Asuma!!' Kakashi thought happily and his visible eye shone with unshed tears of joy. The chain-smoker turned to him and gave him a subtle wink before returning his attention to the slightly ruffled Iruka-sensei.

"Uh, Asuma-sensei... Eating in the cafeteria too?"

"Hm, yeah? Kurenai was telling me that you were showing our new teacher around so I thought I should ask the other staff to come along and see how the new guy is like... You don't mind, do you?"

"Ah, no... Of course not! Haha..." Iruka-sensei gave the usual smile and scooted away from his crush to make room for the other man. "I don't mind at all..." The ticking vein at his temple was saying otherwise, though.

Asuma brought out his lighter and lit a cigarette. "That's good then. Ah well, hey guys...This suspicious-looking guy here is our new colleague. We didn't get to see him 'cause he was late this morning. Anyway, meet Hatake Kakashi."

Kakashi hurriedly stood up to bow. "Nice to meet everyone. Well, I'm not exactly your new colleague since I'll only be here until the end of summer but I hope we'll work together and have good relations. Please take care of me during my time here. Thank you."

It felt weird giving the introductory speech in the cafeteria of all places but Kakashi took his seat and ignored all the stares from the student body.

Anko cheered. "Woot! No problem, no problem!"

The scarecrow smiled at the other girl and muttered 'thanks' when he felt a shiver ran down his back.

A green-clad man strode towards him. "Hm... have I met you anywhere before?"

'It's the senior forest elf! (Refer to Chapter 9 for reference)' Kakashi thought aghast. "Uh, I don't think we've met, uh Mr..?"

"Oh! I'm Gai! Maito Guy! Well, some people call me the 'Beautiful Green Beast of Ha-Ou Gakuen' and others call me the 'Beautiful Green Beast of Konohagakure'... but you can call me Gai-sensei." The bowl-haired man smiled and gave a thumbs-up.

"Aha... sure." Kakashi sweated. 'Green Beast? Definitely. Beautiful? ...Uh, where?'

"Kakashi-sensei! What do you think of the youths these days?" Gai asked as he put his hand on Kakashi's shoulder in some sort of camaraderie.

"Uh, I think..."

"Don't you think youths these days are so lifeless nowadays? Unlike the youths of our time, they are so unenthusiastic and apathetic about everything! Especially sports! How could youths be unimpressed by sports and gym and leotards!? And most of them are no longer wearing green!! How could youths not wear the color and symbol of vitality and life!? Don't you agree with me, Kakashi-sensei?" The man squeezed his shoulder and gave him a thumbs-up again.

"Yeah." 'I'm tuning him out the next time.'

"Good! I knew we could get along fine the moment I saw you! Great minds think alike! Ahahahah!" The senior forest elf (nicknamed in Kakashi's mind) laughed heartily and gave another thumbs-up. "Hey! We should give you a welcome party later on! What do you say, everyone?"

"Yeah!!" This came from Anko.

Kurenai nodded.

Iruka nodded his head and smiled. "Sure!"

Asuma continued smoking, while the other teachers gave their affirmatives as well.

Gai punched his fist in the air passionately. "Alright!! We shall have a party later!!"

* * *

And that was how Kakashi found himself sitting in a corner with a very drunk Iruka-sensei pressing at his side hours later. 

_::Flashback::_

The forest elf had ambushed him on his way to his car and half-tugged, half-carried him towards the group of teachers and pushed him into a nauseously green 4-wheel-drive, with even greener interior, mostly definitely owned by said elf. This crime happened after school.

Kakashi felt like a kidnapped victim — in a sense, he was because he had been reluctant to go and was witnessed (by some of the milling students) to has been struggling in a bid to get away from the kidnapper (Gai) — and the feeling was made worse when he was squashed between Anko and Iruka, who were both trying desperately to get his attention.

'I have hit bottom.' Was his last thought as he stared miserably ahead in an attempt to ignore the two teachers sitting beside him, and Gai's passionate speech about youth and how teachers such as themselves should educate youths and make them treasure the golden period and enjoy vitality or something along those lines. The 'Kung Fu Fighting' song that was playing at a deafening volume in the car was not helping the scarecrow at all and he wished fervently that he was sitting in his car with his little blonde spouse; having ramen at Ichiraku and having their little fights.

Most of all, he wished he could see the blonde soon.

_::End Flashback::_

"Hey... Kaka –hic– ...shi-sensei... –hic– I think you're really... –hic– ...cool. Can we go... –hic– ...out sometime...?"

'Whao... he's direct. That was unexpected.' Kakashi gently pushed the man away from him and helped him to sit upright. "Uh, Iruka-sensei, I can't. Uh, you're really drunk."

"Not drunk! –hic– ...Just a bit... buzzed... –hic– " The dolphin replied in a slur and grabbed a fistful of the man's shirt.

"Uh, okay... Uh, I have to go now. Uh, can you let go of me?"

"No! Go together!! –hic– "

Iruka's face was getting alarming close to his, and his (Iruka) grip was so damn strong so Kakashi immediately called for reinforcements. Just so happens that his two allies were sitting near him. Thank God for that. "Asuma, Kurenai, the two of you!! Don't just sit there! Come here!!"

Asuma crushed his cigarette in the ash-tray and made his way to the struggling silver-haired man and the English teacher with a very amused smile on his face.

"Ho... you look like you're in some kinda trouble..." The man started.

"Don't even say anything." Kakashi warned, through gritted teeth.

"Alright, alright. Hurry and get out of here. It's pretty late already." Asuma muttered as he freed Kakashi's shirt from Iruka's death-grip and pulled the smaller man into a sitting position, freeing some space for Kakashi's getaway.

"Yeah, thanks. See you tomorrow!" The man gave a brief salute and high-tailed out of there before the other teachers (chiefly Gai and Anko) could stop him. Asuma and Kurenai exchanged a look before breaking into peals of laughter.

* * *

'Ah, it's already so late. Would he stay up to wait for me? ...Nah. He's probably asleep.' Kakashi thought as he made his way into the apartment silently. The hall was dark — another indication that his spouse had slept. So it was understandable that Kakashi jumped a feet in the air when the lights flickered on suddenly and a very angry voice drifted across the room from the dry kitchen/dining room. "You. Are. Late." 

He turned around stiffly to face the angry blonde and gulped. "Uh, it's like this..."

Naruto scowled and rested his hands on his hips.

"Uh, the other teachers dragged me to this welcoming party. I didn't want to go but uh... Why are you not sleeping yet?"

"So you drank huh? You stink of liquor and cigarettes!"

"I didn't! Uh, I only drank a few cups and uh, the tobacco smell is from the other teachers. Hey, what are you? Interrogating me?"

The blonde slammed his hands on the dining table and shot up from his seat. "Did you know how long I waited for you after school? Why didn't you at least tell me?"

"I told you, I was dragged to the party! I didn't have time to say anything to you!"

"Fine! Second thing! Explain why you are in my school, as an Art teacher, and I didn't even know about it until today!!"

"Uh, that is... Why should I tell you anyway!?"

"Of course you should tell me!! I'm your spouse, aren't I?!!"

A tangible silence enveloped them. Kakashi was surprised that the blonde had regarded himself as his spouse and the blonde was also surprised at his own admittance.

Kakashi spoke up when the silence got awkward. "It was an assignment. I tried to change to another school but the admin people at the institute hates me. Besides, telling you before and after today has no difference right?"

"It does!"

"Why?" The silver-haired man looked into those baby-blue eyes and repeated his question. "Why should it matter?"

"Because... uh, it feels weird!" The blonde finished lamely. "Anyway, just don't tell anyone in school we're married, understand?"

"...I won't."

"Good." Making his way to his bedroom, Naruto muttered. "And go wash up already. Good night."

"...Hey."

"Yeah?"

"Is that... is that why you stayed up and waited for me?"

"?"

"So that you can tell me not to tell the others in school that we're married...?"

"Hm, yeah... sort of."

"Oh. Hm. Okay. Good night."

"Hm... 'Night." The blonde yawned and closed his bedroom door.

Kakashi sighed and made his way to the bathroom. '...I'm such a fool.'

* * *

Life got on normal for the couple after a few awkward days of dealing with each other in school and at home. They had to make some adjustments to their transport method because it would be strange if they went to school in the same car and at the same time everyday, so Naruto took to catching the train to school and then he would wait at the park around his previous home (the Uzumaki household) for Kakashi to pick him back. Their communication method had some arrangements as well. At home, Naruto would use that usual disrespectful tone with Kakashi and the two would squabble over some useless things, such as whose turn it was to clean the dishes, and like always, Kakashi would give in and treat him to either ramen or ice cream when Naruto gave him the cold shoulder. In school, however, Naruto had to be respectful to the man and do whatever the man said, since he was the teacher. 

At first, the boy thought that Kakashi would make use of that authority to make him do stupid things. So far, the scarecrow had proven him wrong. In fact, he gradually hardly ever saw the man except in class and once during lunch when Iruka-sensei dragged him to the cafeteria and tried to feed him some home-made _bento_ (lunchbox).

Naruto vaguely wondered if the man was avoiding him.

"Old, uhm, Kakashi-sensei, can I speak with you for a minute?" Naruto called out to the taller man before he could leave the class during one of their Art sessions.

"I have to go to the next class. We'll talk later."

"H-Hey! Wait!" The man just shot him an apologetic look before striding out of the class.

'The next class doesn't even start until the fourth period! That's an hour away!!' Naruto fumed as he trudged back to his seat; he had seen the man's schedule once when Kakashi was complaining about taking the whole of first-years for Art. 'The man **is** avoiding him!'

"Hm?" Naruto reached into his bag when he felt a small vibration. "SMS? What's it about... '_Naruto, you have to go home yourself today. Call me when you reach home. Bye. From Kakashi._' What?! That jerk! He should have told me in school... Crap, now I have to walk back the other way to the train station..."

* * *

"_The mobile user you've just called is currently unavailable. Please try again later_. ::Beep::" The hand holding the (telephone) receiver started shaking then it violently slammed the receiver back. 

"What the hell!" Naruto shrieked in frustration and pounded his fists on the table to release some anger.

It was obvious that the older man was giving him the cold shoulder.

How did Naruto come to that conclusion...?

Simple, really: he had barely spoken to the man at all.

Only three sentences in the morning — "hurry, you'll be late soon!"; "I'm going off first."; and "I'll buy dinner back later" — and a pathetic request that was later rejected — "Kakashi-sensei, can I speak with you for a minute" — in the afternoon.

This had never ever happened... until now, that is.

Even on the days when they were quarreling with each other, they spoke more than 10 sentences; the insults (they traded) alone would have already filled up one whole page of an A4 paper with a single spacing.

'What in the world was wrong anyway? Why did that pervert speak less and less each day?' Naruto wondered as he recounted the events of the past few days to check what had set the older man off.

'It was strange... Unless...' A metaphorical light bulb lit up in Naruto-mind and the thought made the blonde glared at nothing in particular. '...He's having an affair...'

* * *

"Hello?" That beautiful and kind voice now sounded extremely evil in Naruto's opinion. 

"Uh... Rin-san? It's Naruto... Uh, I'm just wondering if you know where, uh, _our_ Kakashi is?" **(4)**

"Ah! Naruto-kun! _Hishashiburi_!! **(5)** Hm, Kakashi? Ah, let me see the date today..." There was a slight pause and some ruffling on the other line then Rin spoke up again. "Ah! Found it... Oh, he probably went for re-service today. Hm, didn't you know?"

"Re-what?" Naruto's eyes narrowed. 'What kind of service? I'll kill them two if she says, 'the sexual kind'!' The hand on the receiver was clenched so tight, the knuckles had already turned white.

"Re-service! He was in the military for a while... and men after the army are supposed to go back for re-service until the age of 45, I think. Hm, why are you asking me about this?"

'Cause no one told me! And because you're my prime suspect!!' Naruto thought frustratingly before replying. "Uh, Kakashi never tells me these things."

"But I thought you would have known. Didn't the two of you go out for a while before you married? Oh, maybe it's the age difference...?"

"What age difference?" Naruto asked while wondering, 'So are you trying to tell me I'm ignorant?'

"Ah, a few years back, they demolished the policy for compulsory conscription and lowered the rate to 50 percent so only those who got (randomly) chosen had to serve the army for a couple of years. This, you should know right?"

"Yeah."

"But before that policy, conscription was compulsory and the age to enter the army was around 17—18, then they had to serve three years in army; if they were conscripted into commando squads, they had to serve four— two in the country and two abroad. There were a couple of wars between our country and a few others so military and defense was very heavy then. Hm, Kakashi was conscripted into the commando squad and he continued staying in the army for a couple of years before he got out. Some stuff happened..." Rin explained.

"Oh, I see... Uh, he didn't tell me... Maybe he thought I won't be interested."

There was a slight pause before Rin spoke again. "But those years in the army should have been very valuable to him... I thought he would have shared it with you. It was there that he changed his personality and looked at things in a more... optimistic perspective."

"..."

"...Naruto-kun? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah! Uh, Rin-san, do you know how I can contact him? Or where I can find him...?"

"Hm, there should be a letter to inform him of his barrack and the duration. If you find that letter, you should be able to get him. Ah, Naruto-kun. I'm sorry, but I have to leave now. Have a lesson to teach."

"Oh, sorry. Uh, thanks for your help, Rin-san." Even if Naruto disliked her a little for some unknown reason, she was still his spouse's good friend; it would be bad to be rude to her.

"You're welcome... Oh, Naruto-kun?"

"Hm?"

"Good luck. Hope you patch things up with him." Rin encouraged.

"Eh?"

"Have to run. Bye!"

Rin hung up before Naruto responded. He pondered on the lady's words and concluded that maybe she was not so bad. Just then, a sharp ringing tore through the air, making him jump.

"Hello?" The blonde breathed into the receiver whilst taking deep gulps of air to calm his heart; it felt like the organ was going to pound out of his chest anytime soon.

"Whoa, that's fast! You waiting for a call?" That infuriating baritone voice called cheerfully.

"You... You! Where the hell are you now? Why didn't you pick up your phone? Why did you not talk to me in school today? Why didn't you tell me about the camp?"

The questions were shot in rapid succession and with such aggression that Kakashi subconsciously raised his hands in defense. He quickly resumed his normal position when he realized how stupid he must have looked, standing at attention with his hands in front of him at the telephone booth.

He also realized that Naruto made him do many stupid things on the subconscious level.

"Uh, I'm in camp. My phone had no battery. Your English class was after mine so I wanted to get out of there before I saw your teacher. I didn't tell you because my mind was occupied with other things and I thought you'll be okay with me not being around for a few days. You just reached home? Did you lock the door properly? Have you eaten lunch?"

The older man fired questions of his own and the blonde quickly replied, "Yeah, about 30 minutes ago. Locked the door and checked already. Yeah, had chicken spaghetti at that Italian restaurant near the station... It was pretty good. Let's go there next time, 'kay? I want to try the pizza as well. Even then, you should have told me about the uh, re-service. Will you be home tonight? How long will you be there? Have you eaten too?"

"Hm, the restaurant near the train station? Pizza would be nice too. I thought you'll eat ramen... or sushi." Naruto thought he heard a growl from the other man before he continued. "Hm, I wouldn't be home tonight. In fact, I wouldn't be back for three days. Ate some weird things... The food in army always sucks."

The blonde frowned. For a minute, he felt a bit uneasy that Kakashi would be gone for three whole days. "Three days? Then what about school tomorrow?"

"Ah, I've gotten leave... Hm, I think they'll be getting Iruka-sensei to cover for me." The silver-haired man answered before blabbing on a list of instructions. "When I'm not at home during the weekends, remember to lock the door and windows properly before you sleep. You can wash the clothes in the washing machine but just leave it in the dryer. Don't try to hang it up in poles and let it dry manually. If possible, stay away from high places and knives. Ah... what else did I want to tell you...?"

"Hey, don't worry. I can take care of myself... I've lived alone for three weeks fine by myself before so don't worry, I'll be okay." The blonde assured. "Besides it's only for three days and we're living in an apartment so if anything happens to me, I can just scream for help or something and the neighbors are nice people. Besides..."

Kakashi stopped going through his mental checklist on 'Things to Tell Naruto' and just listened to the boy ramble on about how he would manage if anything happened. He thought Naruto sounded incredibly lonely.

"Naruto."

"Yeah?"

"Remember you had to do me five favors right?"

"No. It's down to four!" The blonde clarified passionately.

Kakashi stared at the phone receiver in his hand, rolled his eyes and put it back to his ear. "...Fine, fine. Four favors, remember them right?"

"Yeah?"

"Okay, for the next three days, I want you to bring me lunch and meet me outside the camp in the evenings."

"...What?!!"

Kakashi winced. "Ow... Your voice is still as shrill and loud as an obaa-san's."

"Then you're a wrinkly old man! I'm not that free to bring you bento! Besides, isn't that place very far away?"

"...Come on. I'm really starving in this place. The food is horrible and the cafeteria ladies wouldn't leave me alone every time I get food. It's scary! I might be violated one day!"

"...Is it that bad?"

"Yeah. It's horrible." The silver-haired gave a few sniffs and made a couple of whimpers. 'Just a bit more... and he'll bite the bait...'

He heard Naruto gave a sigh then wearily agreed. Kakashi quickly gave the blonde the address and gave a list of food that he wanted to eat. Most of it consisted of easy-to-made foods, including sushi. The scarecrow had finally thought it through — the only way to get rid of bad memories is to create new ones. That's why he would get Naruto to make sushi for him to remove that bad association with that brat. Besides, it'll be bad if Naruto hurt himself in the kitchen if Kakashi get him to make something more complex.

"Okay, that's all." Kakashi finished just as Naruto finished writing down the last of the food.

"Hmm... okay. So uh, hmm..."

For a couple of minutes, the two just stayed silent over the phone, listening to the background noises on the other line and making 'hmm' sounds. Finally, a loud ringing at Kakashi's side signaled the start of some more training and the silver-haired man listed a few more cautions to the blonde before reluctantly hanging up.

As Naruto put the receiver back, he looked around the apartment for a while before preparing for bed.

It felt so empty without Kakashi around.

* * *

"Oi, Kakashi, what the hell are you smiling about?" Genma asked while chewing a toothpick. 

The silver-haired man stopped humming and put his hands to his face. "Hm? Am I smiling?" His eye was still in a happy crescent.

"..."

"Hmm... you'll see." The scarecrow giggled and resumed humming again. He couldn't help it. Naruto was bringing him o-bento later.

"Hatake Kakashi?" The camp personnel called out.

"Yes?"

"Someone is looking for you."

"Thanks."

Genma and Raidou tilted their head in confusion when Kakashi's giggle turned into a full-blown laughter. "He's here."

"Huh? Kakashi, have you gone mad from not seeing your bride? It's only for a few days, you know..." Raidou asked. Kakashi's eccentric behavior was freaking him out.

"Nah, come on guys. Today is an awesome day to eat out." With that, the scarecrow pranced out of the room.

The remaining two members looked at each other, gave a shrug and followed the other man. If it made Kakashi this happy, it was probably Naruto.

* * *

"Ah! Genma-san and Raidou-san, it's nice to meet you." Naruto bowed respectfully when the two finally appeared. 

Kakashi was already pawing through the bag of lunchboxes. "Oi _chibi_, why are there so many boxes?"

Naruto gave a small yawn and rubbed his eyes. "Hm? Oh, you said the food sucks right? So I made more for lunch. Hm, and one box is for me. Haven't eaten yet..."

"Wah! _Yome-san_! Thanks for making so much!"

"Wah! It looks delicious!"

"Thank you, _yome-san_!" Genma and Raidou cried happily as they dug in. When they popped a piece of sushi in their mouths, tears started rolling down their cheeks.

"This is the best..."

"...Delicious. I can feel the meat melting in my mouth..."

The two were eating and giving a food commentary while crying happily. The sight was so comically that Naruto couldn't help but laugh. 'Food here must be really bad...' He thought as he urged the two to eat more.

"Naruto," A hand caressed his forehead and cheek. "You didn't sleep well...?"

Turning to the owner of that hand, Naruto looked into the rare serious gaze of his spouse and shook his head. "Hm, not really... Just a bit tired... Don't worry bout me."

The scarecrow frowned. "If you're tired, then let's not go out tonight."

The blonde immediately shook his head. "No!" At the weird looks from his three companions, he elaborated, "Uh, I mean, I'm not that tired... Besides, it's the weekends. There's nothing to do at home..."

"I see." Kakashi smiled and ruffled his head. "Let's have fun tonight then!"

* * *

"This is your idea of fun?!" Naruto asked incredulously as he stared at the neon lights and cigarette smoke wafting around the entrance. 

"Come, come, don't be shy!" Kakashi pulled the blonde into the establishment and ordered a room for the four of them.

Raidou chirped. "Uh, please include a tambourine as well."

"Okay." The waitress smiled.

"So you guys have fun by singing karaoke?" Naruto asked again when Genma shoved a microphone into his hands.

"Yeah...? It's fun!"

"Huh...? But don't you go to clubs or stuff like that?"

"Nah, too crowded and chaotic..." Kakashi replied as he flipped through the songbook.

And so, the four of them spent the night singing and drinking at _Snack Yukari_ and surprisingly, Naruto found that it wasn't too bad. It really wasn't bad at all.

* * *

"Alright, we have to go back to camp now. Genma, Raidou, the two of you return first. I'll see Naruto back." Kakashi ordered as he picked their things (they had been playing with their army caps and waving their mobile phones in the air for the 'LIVE' effect **(6)** when one of them were singing) and shoved them back to their respective owners. 

"Yesss Sir!" The two saluted to him before striding out of the bar, still singing their favorite song along the way.

"Sheesh, those two..." Kakashi grumbled under his breath then turned to his spouse. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah. But it's fine. I can go back on my own."

"No!" The taller man grabbed the boy's hand and gently pulled him out. "There is NO way I'll let you do that..."

The blonde pouted and looked away. "I'm not a kid anymore, you know..."

"Yeah, yeah... Until you get out of high school, you're still a brat."

Kakashi had thought Naruto would tug his hand away from the firm grasp but the boy didn't. A little happy, he continued holding the boy's hand and they walked in the dim streets, side by side.

"Humph! Stop calling me brat! I'm already of legal age!" Naruto spoke up a couple of seconds later.

"No, you're not. You're short of a few months and days."

"It's the year that counts!"

"No, the law is very precise."

"Yeah, but the law also says that I have to be 18 to be married and I already am! So it's not that precise after all. Bleh—!"

"...Yeah, but it's like I picked up a kid rather than a spouse so maybe the law should raise the age to be 20 instead." The scarecrow smiled teasingly.

His smile disappeared when he saw Naruto's expression.

Before he could comment or apologize, a group of delinquents confronted them.

"Hey, hey, hey... what do we have here?" Gangster A sneered.

"Oh, lookie... it's a little boy and his sugar-daddy!" Gangster B joined in the mock-fest.

Kakashi tugged Naruto to his side and held him protectively. 'Three of them. Young brats. Probably wants money.' "Uh, is there something you want?"

Gangster C, who looks like the leader of the group, spoke up. "Oh, you see, old man, we happened to drop our wallets in the _pachinko_ parlor and now we're really hungry. So we were wondering if you can give us some money..."

Naruto snorted. "Humph! Dropped your wallets my ass!"

"Why you little!"

Kakashi held Naruto tighter to him and gently shoved the boy behind him. Then he gave the delinquents his usual disarming smile. "Now, now... he's just a little kid. Here, take my wallet."

Gangster B cackled. "Now that's the right attitude. It's to be expected of someone who is older and more experienced in life."

Gangster A pushed his ugly face towards Naruto. "Hey, don't be with a _wuss_ like the old man here... Come on, follow big brother here... We'll have some fun."

Naruto's face was turning darker with each insult. Finally, when they made another remark of how Kakashi was a pansy, he snapped.

He attacked the nearest gangster, which happened to be Gangster A, and judo-flipped him in the direction of Gangster B. Then he dashed towards Gangster C and gave him an upper-cut. Everything happened so fast; in a couple of minutes, the delinquents were holding their sore spots and moaning in pain on the ground. Kakashi stared at the scene with his mouth agape.

The blonde shot his most vicious glare towards the group still groaning on the floor. "Don't you DARE insult him one more time, you hear me?" He clenched his fists and popped his knuckles. "Or I'll break your necks!"

Then he turned to Kakashi.

"Hiiii!" The silver-haired man gave a short shriek at the killer-glare. Jiraiya's words were coming back to haunt him.

"And you! How could you let them insult you!?! Who the hell do they think they are to insult you like that?!?! How could you let them insult you??!! How could you...!?! I'm NOT A KID!!!" The boy screamed at the shivering and slightly confused man, who was wondering what the hell did that last sentence mean.

Moments later, the blonde slumped to the floor and started bawling.

"Uhh...? Na-Naruto...?" Kakashi asked as he hesitantly approached the crying boy.

"What's going on here?" A beam of light flashed in their direction. "Hey, HEY! Put your hands up in the air and don't move!!"

'Shit.'

* * *

"Uh, thank you, Iruka-sensei... for uh, bailing us out." Kakashi mumbled as he bowed respectfully to the crying man before him. 

The police, who had captured the gangsters and them, had burst out in laughter when they told him they were married. Even with the wedding rings (Kakashi's was on his left middle finger while Naruto had hung it around his neck), the police had asked them to get someone with authority to verify it. In the end, they had no choice but to call the English teacher as the man was also Naruto's form teacher.

"You, you are married?" The English teacher asked, while grabbing another tissue pack from his bag.

"Uh, yeah."

"And, and to Naruto?"

"Uh, yeah."

"How could you!?!" Iruka bawled as he pounded his fists onto the taller man's chest while the police (and suspected criminals) streaming in and out of the police station stared at them. "I... I... liked... How could you?!"

"Uh... sorry?" Kakashi wondered what was wrong with him. Something must be wrong with him if two people are screaming 'How could you' or something along those lines and sobbing because of him.

"Iruka-sensei? Uh, thanks for coming to help us." Naruto bowed respectfully to his form teacher.

His teacher wiped his face, blew his nose and resumed his usual composure. Then turning to the still bowing boy, he gave a small scowl before turning his head away. "Naruto-kun... I'll see you in school on Monday." With that, he stalked away with a thought for revenge.

'Yes... that's what I'll do! Hatake Kakashi... Uzumaki, no, Hatake, no, sounds odd, Uzumaki Naruto... I'll never let you two off!!'

* * *

**:To Be Continued: **

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. As mentioned in Chapter I, the plot was adapted from a movie (Korean, I think) called Young Bride (I think). Please check out the movie because the lead actress is very cute. :)

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore). OCC-ness, pathetic attempts at humor, revival of deceased characters and shounen-ai.

Notes:

(1) _Sasuke-sama, Sasuke-sama,_ _urusai-ttebayo_! – _Sasuke-sama, Sasuke-sama, so noisy/shut up already!_

(2) Pinky promise. Yes, it's very, uh, childish.

(3) During closing hours, it is quite a common practice for supermarkets to start selling some of the fresh produce (especially those that would expire in a day) at half price. _Obaa-san_(s) (the more aggressive middle-age housewives) tends to be passionate during bargains like this.

(4) Naruto used the term 'our Kakashi' to establish a certain sense of intimacy to Rin; family members tend to use that term (For instance, the wife would use, 'our husband', 'our dad' to express the close relationship to others)

(5) _Hishashiburi_!! – It's been a while (since we met)/ Long time no see.

(6) 'Playing with their army caps and waving their mobile phones in the air for the 'LIVE' effect' thing is actually part of personal experience. In some concerts (a while back) 'light sticks' were waved in the air by the audience when the singers start singing some emotional ballads and stuff like that. So when my friends and I visit the karaoke, the people who are not singing will take out their mobile phones, click a button that turns on the light on the mobile and waved them in the air while the other person is singing to create that effect. Note: The effect is more apparent (and more fun) when the room is dark.

Uh, you may have noticed that Kakashi makes some weird comparison to ramen, sushi and spaghetti. Well, to personify the foods, Naruto would be ramen, Sasuke would be sushi and Kakashi himself is spaghetti. So he is very biased against sushi or maki and gets a little happy whenever Naruto mentioned that he ate ramen or spaghetti or noodles in general. Hope that makes it clear that Kakashi is not some food-obsessed psychotic.

A/N 1:

Once again, thank you to all of you for the wonderful reviews. They really made my day too since some of the reviews were pretty funny. To answer a few questions or issues:

1) They are making progress. XD It's very slow and there's a lot of misunderstanding on both parties but there's definitely progress between the two.

2) Yes, their past and everything will be appearing very, very soon. In fact, depending on the length, it might appear next chapter. Or the next, next one. Their past is a very crucial portion in this story actually. So look forward to that.

3) Itachi would not be appearing. At all. There would be another Uchiha mentioned... but I'm sure you know who he is already. Right? ...Right??

4) Actually, Sasuke wasn't really playing dumb. He had forgotten all about Kakashi since Naruto is already with him. Sasuke is unexpectedly naïve and innocent in this fic (which was how I wanted him to be in this story, actually).

Well, with this chapter, the second last milestone is more or less completed. This means... this story will be reaching the last base soon ::waves banner:: Till that time comes, please continue to support this fic!!

A/N 2:

It would be summer break soon. With that, it would be preparation for the coming cultural festival. What!? Iruka-sensei, how could you do such a cruel thing to Naruto? Where is Kakashi disappearing to at night?!? Why is Naruto so upset about Kakashi calling him a kid?? Oh no! The forbidden relationship has been discovered by the Hatake elders, Jiraiya and Tsunade!! Naruto, _dousuruno_? (what are you gonna do?) All these and more will be revealed in the next episode of... FIRST LOVE!!

As usual, please give me feedback and comments via the cute, lil' button below. Don't be shy!!


	14. STEP 13

'Uwah, love turns into hate really easily.' Naruto thought when he saw the killer-glares Sakura and Ino shot at Sasuke, and the killer-scowls Iruka-sensei shot in the direction of Kakashi as the taller man made his speech. The exam period had just finished. This meant that summer break would commence soon and Kakashi would be leaving the school as well. Then after summer break, it would be the cultural festival.

'Cultural festival... it would be a pain in the ass.' Naruto thought just as the silver-haired man finished his speech with a 'thank you for this wonderful experience.'

There were some sad faces amongst the girls and a few of the boys. A couple of students were blinking and sniffing.

Despite his perverted ways and his (unappreciated) ability to crack lame jokes, Kakashi had been a great teacher. The art lessons he taught had been the most interesting compared to all the other lessons in Naruto's entire three years. Thinking back, he wondered if those lessons could even be called art lessons...

* * *

**FIRST LOVE**

**Step XIII: Time lapse accounts for flashbacks... loads of them. The conflicting feelings are overflowing... Naruto is having chest aches? Naruto! What are you doing?**

_::Flashback::_

Uzumaki Naruto, First Year, Class 1-B, Sunflower Group 

"Alright students, take out that empty egg shell and start wrapping the cellophane paper around it..." Mrs. Umeda screamed, in that shrill and squeaky voice, to the noisy class. Some students were running around throwing eggs at each other while the girls were holding some posters and giggling madly.

"...Students!! Wrap the paper around your empty egg shell!! Then paste these two buttons on the side of the eggs... And you have a goldfish!! ...STUDENTS!! You!! Get back to your seat!! You!! Stop throwing eggs!! GIRLS! Stop talking and get started!!" The elderly teacher continued screaming as the class continued wrecking havoc...

Uzumaki Naruto, Second Year, Class 2-C, Sunflower Group

"Alright students, take out the banana and start sketching..." Ms. Sumomo screamed, in that sharp voice, to the noisy class. Some students were running around throwing bananas at each other; some were sparring with their bananas as swords; and some (like Chouji) were wolfing down bunches of bananas to see who could eat faster. The girls were holding some photographs and giggling madly.

"...Students!! Take the banana and start sketching!! Pay attention to the light and shadows on the bananas and shade it to show the light contrast... And then hand into me for grading! ...STUDENTS!! YOU!! Get back to your seat!! You!! Stop playing!! You!! Stop eating the bananas and throwing the skins around!! GIRLS!! Stop talking and get started!!" The petite teacher continued screaming as the class continued wrecking havoc...

_::End Flashback:: _

It was no wonder that some of the more arts-inclined students were sad to see the man go.

Naruto felt a little upset as well but along with that sadness was a deeper sense of relief. School life had been extremely difficult for the two of them since Iruka-sensei discovered their little secret.

_::Flashback::_

"Naruto! Stand outside the class now!!" Iruka-sensei screamed as he slammed his textbook down on the desk, startling the entire class.

'What had happened to mild-mannered Iruka-sensei today?' was the general question many of the students had in mind as they watched their English teacher took in deep gulps of air to calm down.

"Eh?" The blonde blinked at the sudden punishment meted to him. What had he done anyway?

"Don't 'Eh' me! Acting cute in my class will get you nowhere! Don't think that this is the same as Art class!!" The English teacher continued hotly.

"I... I'm not acting cute in any classes!" Naruto argued, his face slowly reddening from anger and embarrassment. What the hell had Iruka meant by that anyway! "Why should I stand outside class?"

"You weren't paying attention. Now go! Stand outside till your next class... which is Art class right?" The English teacher said with a light sneer.

'So why did he keep mentioning ART CLASS!?!' Naruto frowned. "But I..."

"GO!"

Naruto mutely put his books under his desk and stood outside class.

* * *

"Naruto? Why are you standing outside?" A baritone voice asked. 

"...Punishment." The blonde growled as he glared at his spouse. "And put that pervert book away. This is a school, you know."

Kakashi ignored the ugly look and order and asked, "Eh? For?"

"Hm? Oh. Not paying attention."

"Uwah... Your English teacher is really strict." The taller man commented as he tucked his book away. Seconds later, the bell rang. "Ah well. It's Art class now. Get in."

The door slid open and the English teacher walked out. Looking at the couple, he scorned, "Oh! It's Kakashi-sensei to the rescue huh?"

"Uh, Iruka-sensei..."

"Oh well, I guess it's understandable that Kakashi-sensei would be helping Naruto. After all..."

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted before the other man could finish his sentence. "I'm terribly sorry for not paying attention in class just now. I will take care next time. Uh, bye!"

With that, he tugged Kakashi's hand, which made Iruka madder, dragged the man inside and slid the door shut.

"Alright class, I've more or less finished the syllabus for this term so this would be a free period for all of you. I know exams are still a month away but do use this time to revise, okay?" Kakashi cheerfully walked out of the class in search of a certain dolphin to have a good talk.

Since then, the picking on and verbal attacks that were mostly concentrated on Naruto were shifted onto Kakashi as well.

_::End Flashback:: _

Naruto scowled as he remembered how Iruka had treated Kakashi; it was even worse than the way he had treated him. Even in front of the entire class, Iruka had been extremely rude to the other man. Like for instance, glaring at him in class; screaming at him when Art class took two minutes more to end; and slightly shoving him off the front of the desk like what he was doing at current. Naruto scowled and clenched his fists. Despite the horrible treatment from the dolphin, Kakashi did nothing to stop the shorter man. The blonde wondered what was wrong with the scarecrow.

"Alright class. Now as you all know, the school's cultural festival is coming soon and I would like to settle it as soon as possible. This year, our class is in charge of decorating the hall for the talent show and music event so we have to decide the theme and responsibilities of the members involved. We also need to think about what we are going to do this year. Class representation (rep) and secretary, please come up front to hold the discussion." Iruka called out and proceeded to take a seat, the only seat, at the side of the desk, leaving Kakashi standing at the corner of the class awkwardly.

"Uh, Kakashi-sensei, if you don't mind, please take a seat at my desk." The secretary offered as she took the chalk from the other side of the board.

"Uh, okay. Thanks Urahara-san." Kakashi smiled and took a few strides to sit himself at the class secretary's seat... which happened to be two seats in front of Naruto. The secretary blushed and hurriedly wrote down the agenda for the discussion.

The class rep started with the latter topic. "Any suggestions on what we should do for our class in the coming cultural event?"

A hand shot up. It belonged to Kiba. "We should get the girls to do the cosplay café thing like last year! We made loads of money anyway..."

"Hm, good idea, Inuzuka." The class rep commented and the secretary jotted it on the board.

Another hand shot up. It belonged to Shino. "We should do a bug gallery."

The entire class, barring Shino, shivered. "Uhh... g-good idea, A-Aburame." The secretary jotted it down. 'Bug Gallery' was written down in a wobbly font because the secretary's hand had been shaking too hard.

"Uhh, any other suggestions?" The class rep continued.

One of Kakashi's fan raised his hand. "Ah! I've an idea! Why don't we do an art gallery? Kakashi-sensei, you can help us in this right?"

The silver-haired man thought about it for a moment before nodding his head.

"Okay. Art gallery. Three suggestions are enough for now. Let's do a vote okay? Those up for cosplay café, raise your hands."

Most of the guys raised their hands.

"Alright... Nearly half the class. Next, art gallery?"

Most of the girls raised their hands.

"Okay. Final one, bug gallery?"

Two hands shot up. One belonged to, unsurprisingly, Shino and the other belonged to a very quiet and mysterious girl in the class.

"Oh! There are two votes for this. But because the other two had more votes, the bug gallery is taken off!" The class rep announced cheerfully as the secretary hurriedly erased the wobbly scribble on the board.

"Tch!" mumbled Shino and the Shino-like girl irately at the loss.

"Hm, so there is an equal number of votes for both café and art gallery. So maybe we should do a vote again?"

"No way! Let's just do the cosplay café!" Kiba suggested. A few guys murmured their agreement. ('A few guys' included Kakashi, to Naruto's annoyance.)

Kakashi-fan number 1 immediately protested. "No! It's boring!! Let's do something more artistic!!"

"Who cares _if_ it's boring!? It's NOT boring and profitable!! And its so ..._Moe_!! **(1)**" Kiba argued.

"What?! You're sickening! This is when we should do something more meaningful and showcase it!"

"Y-Y-You! What did you say?! I'm sickening?!" Kiba yelled as he shot up from his seat and strode to the opposition's table. "You're even more sickening!!!!"

"What?!?"

Noticing the storm brewing, the class rep immediately ejected himself between the two quarreling boys. "Now, I'm sure we can come to some kind of compromise..."

"Cosplay café and art gallery would be pretty interesting." A voice that sounded a lot like Kakashi's drifted from the back of the class. "Those students supporting art gallery can design the café with their works and help in making the costumes. Those who support cosplay café should decide on a theme and who wears the costumes... It'll be nice to see some boys in the class to dress up too..."

An image of a certain blue-eyed blonde boy in a French maid uniform and cat ears popped up in two persons' minds.

The fighting ceased.

"Alright! Then it's decided! Secretary, please jot that down."

Iruka-sensei shot up suddenly. "Alright, I'll decide the people who would be in our cosplay café. Hm, you there! And the group of girls there! Ah, Uchiha-kun, you too."

The image of Naruto in the maid's outfit burst into flames when Sasuke heard that he would be assigned to wear the costumes. An image of him wearing the maid's outfit appeared briefly before he turned blue and whacked it (the horrible image) into oblivion. He stood to protest but the girls started screaming in excitement, blocking his voice of protest, and they were quickly stifled as Iruka continued assigning the roles to the rest of the class.

"Alright, now that that's done, let's move onto the decoration of the hall..." Iruka started. "Who has not been assigned any role yet?"

Naruto blinked. Then he raised his hand. "Uh, me?"

"Oh, you? Okay then, you're in charge of decorating the hall."

"EH?" The blonde shot up from his seat in protest. "I'm the only one left? I have to decorate the hall alone??"

"Hm, it seems so." Iruka shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Work hard. The school's talent show and music event are counting on you. Alright, class adjourned."

Naruto slumped back to his seat in depression and stifled anger, thereby missing the worried look a certain silver-haired man (who had previously been dreaming about the various outfits that would look good on Naruto) shot him before said man dashed after the shorter teacher.

* * *

"Iruka-sensei, Iruka-sensei, please wait up!" Kakashi called out as he chased after the other man. "Please wait!" 

"Is there anything you want, Hatake-san? Unlike temp staff like you, we full-time teachers are very busy."

Kakashi ignored the jibe. "Uh, that is... regarding the hall decorations, don't you think it's a bit too much for Naruto to handle?"

"No, not at all. Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Uh, some students in the other project are only in charge of purchasing materials. Is it alright to ask them to help in the hall decorations as well?"

Iruka shot a glare at the taller man. "What do you know? Purchasing is a very busy job and there is loads of responsibility involved in that too. Naruto alone is enough. Besides, he has such an artistic spouse, I'm sure some artistic skills would have rubbed off on him as well."

Kakashi clenched his fists. "Iruka-sensei... I don't think you should do such a thing... Please stop punishing Naruto unnecessarily..."

"What?" The dolphin's face turned dark. "Why should I listen to you? Humph! Unnecessarily? He took the person I like away from me!! So don't tell me what to do without even knowing my feelings! ...What's so good about a brat like him anyway? He's the last in class; he can't cook other stuff other than ramen; he is noisy..."

A fist flew past the English teacher's face, narrowly missing it by a couple of inches, and smashed into the wall behind him.

Kakashi's usually cheery tone had taken on a deadly calm. "Please refrain from insulting him any further. I think I mentioned this before but I'll do it again: I don't care what you do to me; I'm willing to take any punishment from you but stop treating him unfairly. Besides, he... he never asked to be married to me, anyway, so it isn't his fault. So, Iruka-sensei, please stop all this. Stop being such a mean person; it's unsuitable for you."

The shorter man recovered from the shock and scowled. "You know nothing about me, Hatake Kakashi, so don't say what is suitable or unsuitable for me! Naruto alone is fully responsible for the hall decorations and that's it. If he fails to create something presentable, he's gonna get it!"

With that, the English teacher stalked off, leaving Kakashi in his own thoughts and regret.

* * *

"Ah... You're so huge..." Naruto groaned as he stared at it. "This is bad..." 

The blonde slumped down onto the floor of the stage and sighed. Then he tilted his head sideways and dashed from one side of the stage to another and groaned again. "The side is at least tens of meters already... And the length is half the size... Ahh... This sucks! Why must it be so huge?!"

In case you're wondering what 'it' is, 'it' is the clean and strong backdrop/wall of the stage. The fact that it was a plain white with not a single speck on it at the moment meant that Naruto had not started on his work.

The blonde flopped onto the floor and laid there facing the ceiling as he wondered how he was going to paint an approximately 5 by 10 meter stage backdrop by himself. What's worse was that, the school would be closed for summer break (which lasts for a couple of weeks), meaning he would only have a few days to finish the job before the cultural festival. The worst thing was he sucked at art. His best score for Art class was a pathetic 51.5 and that was because the art subject had been to draw a sketch of your favorite food or use your favorite food to create a sculpture of sorts. He had used two packets of ramen and stitched them onto a stronger cardboard that was later made into a _shuriken_ that would look a lot like a real _shuriken_ with a lot of imagination.

It had been a good thing his art teacher liked ramen or he would have gotten a lousy score again.

Naruto briefly wondered if his buddies would help him. The other four had always been very good at art (though they don't look like it, but considering recent events) it was unlikely for Naruto to get help from them; they were still pissed about the Sasuke-thing and were still in the process of giving him the cold-shoulder.

Sasuke was out of the question too; the brunette was totally lost in his own world when Naruto approached him after class.

'Hmm... Maybe I can ask _him_?' Naruto pondered. 'Hmm... But he's probably busy helping the class with the art gallery too... Hmm... I'm on my own.'

"I'm dead." He announced and closed his eyes and imagined the different punishments waiting for him from Iruka-sensei. A few minutes later, he got up from the floor and headed home.

* * *

"Inuzuka, Aburame, Nara and Akimichi right?" 

"Uhh... yeah?" Kiba asked unsurely. It wasn't everyday that your Art teacher ambushed you after school.

"You guys are Naruto's friend right?" Kakashi asked.

"Uh, not at current." Chouji replied as he whipped out a grape-flavored Ring-Pop (tm).

Kakashi frowned. "Why?"

The four exchanged a look before Shikamaru spoke up. "Uh, some disagreements."

"Hm... well, can't you forgive him?"

"No! We can't! It's the worst thing he had ever done and I hate two-timers!!" Kiba stated hotly.

"..."

The silence was so tangible that one could reach out a hand and touch it.

"Uh, did I say something wrong?" The canine-lover scratched his head and back-tracked his words mentally.

"Kiba." Shikamaru looked like he was about to strangle him and Shino's green shades were flashing menacingly already. The killing aura was overpowering and Kiba felt like a toad in front of a couple of snakes. Just as he finished his prayers and waited for the inevitable punches, a chuckle broke the tense situation.

"Ah! That? It's fine! I know about it!" Kakashi stated merrily as his obsidian eye crinkled into a happy crescent.

Three. Two. One. Then... "EH?!?!?!!?!?!"

"You know about?"

"When? How? Why? What?"

"What are you gonna do? Y-You're not gonna hurt Naruto, are you?"

"Naruto is innocent! He doesn't really know about seriousness of things even though he's already 18!!"

Kakashi pressed a finger to his lips to signal them to be quiet. "I know. I won't do anything. But don't let him know that I know okay?"

The four boys nodded mutely.

"Thanks for your concern. You guys are good kids. Now I finally know why you guys are ignoring him... But I need you four to do something for me. Can you guys help me?"

"Sure."

"Good! Here's what I need you guys to do for me..."

* * *

"Naruto, what are you doing moping around?" Kakashi asked when he felt more than saw the blonde's gloomy aura as he stepped into the house. He could feel the depression oozing from every pore of the blonde and carefully treaded to the boy on the sofa. 

"..." The curled-up lump, covered by a fluffy pink blanket and a _naruto _(fish-cake)-patterned one, with only the golden hair sticking up remained unmoving.

"Oi, stop spreading your aura of doom around; it's affecting my mood."

"...You heartless jerk!" The boy popped out from the cocoon of blankets and scowled/pouted at the older man. "How could you _rub salt into my wounds_?!"

Kakashi whistled. "Wow... that's so... deep. Never knew you could spout philosophical stuff like that."

The blonde's face turned darker and it looked as if he would bawl any minute.

The older man turned his head to hide a smile before gaining his composure by faking a cough. "Ahem. Summer break is starting... Where do you wanna go?"

Kakashi didn't thought it was possible; but it happened anyway — Naruto actually managed to look more depressed.

"Do you think I would have the mood to go and have fun? ...Jerk, you're really rubbing salt onto my wounds." The boy sniffed.

Kakashi felt bad. But the man also believed that everything would work out fine in the end so he reached his hand, ruffled the boy's head and winked. "Don't worry about all that. Maybe a miracle would happen. Haha... Well, for now, let's go and prepare for summer break and the _matsuri_ **(2)**!"

* * *

"Even though it is summer break, the seniors should be preparing for the college entrance exams. If you want to enter the top colleges, it's good to work harder. As always, remember the motto: play hard, but work harder! Even if you're not in school, you're still representative of the school so behave yourself, students! With that, enjoy your summer break." Principal Sarutobi stepped down from the stage as the rest of the student body rushed out of the hall and out the gate. 

Finally... Summer break begins!

* * *

"Oi, Naruto, are you ready?" Kakashi asked cheerfully. 

"Yeah, yeah... Geez, why are you so excited? Never been to the beach before?" Naruto muttered as he packed the lunchboxes.

Recently, he had been put in charge of the kitchen in the household because his cooking skills had improved exponentially. He had become a rather good cook in the three/four days of bringing lunchboxes to Kakashi and gang in the military camp and had gained quite a reputation there — he topped 'The Condemned Chart' in the canteen ladies' minds because Kakashi no longer visited the canteen for lunch.

On a side note, he also managed to be at the top of the 'To Kill List' in some of the military men's mind. This was because...

_::Flashback::_

"Yo, Kakashi." The sergeant in-charge of Kakashi's platoon, and his pack of cronies, strolled to their table during lunch on the second day. "I heard you little wife has been bringing you lunchboxes. Why? Is the food our camp that bad? Who said that you could bring in lunches? HUH?"

The silver-haired man sighed. "Ah, sergeant. Nice to see you again. It's nice to see that your bad character hasn't changed all these years."

Sergeant-san raised his brow and brought his face nearer to the other man's in (what he thought) a very threatening way. "What did you say? 50 push-ups with your left arm for being rude to your superior." The cronies began cackling in a very sadistic way.

'Maa... It's probably good to get him off my back instead of fighting, I guess...' "Yeah, yeah... My bad." Kakashi replied with a smile on his face. Just as he bent down to do the push-ups to appease Sergeant-san, a voice called out.

"WAIT A MINUTE!!"

"Ah, Naruto, You're early today." The scarecrow commented as he took in the sight of the slightly ruffled looking blonde. 'Why is he panting so hard? ...And what's that mountain of lunchboxes?!'

Unbeknownst to him, Naruto had rushed from school to home to carry that pile of lunchboxes then rushed from home to the camp. Then just when he was slowly strolling to the meeting point, he witnessed the entire scene of the Sergeant and cronies against Kakashi, and memories of the gangsters from the previous night came gushing back and he got pissed off. So he had dashed the remaining 20 meter to save his spouse.

The boy panted a bit, dropped the huge pile of lunchboxes then stormed to Sergeant-san. "Oi, _teme_! **(3)** What the hell did you think you're doing?"

"_T-Teme_...!?! You... You little brat! How dare you be rude to your seniors?!? Kakashi! Is this the way you train your wife?!" The sergeant's face had turned purple and his rage was obvious to anyone within a 50-metre-radius. The cronies were also rolling up their sleeves. It was starting to be oddly reminiscent of the scene with the gangsters from the previous night.

'Train? Wife? Why this bastard...!' A couple of veins popped and throbbed around Naruto's temple. "What did you say?! You pathetic man!! How dare you use your position to bully my husband?! And worse, you dare to show your chauvinistic pig-self to _ore-sama_ **(4)**!! You call yourself a man? And a sergeant?!"

"Y-Y-You!" The sergeant's face turned a darker shade of purple and his hands were twitching, as if they longed to wrap around someone's, preferably a blue-eyed blonde's, neck and squeeze really hard.

"What? Are you going to bully me as well? Oi, everyone!! Look, look, look!! A sergeant is bullying a student for bringing lunchboxes to camp!!!" The boy hollered, gathering the attention of the other recruits, privates and sergeants of other platoons.

"I-I-I...!" stammered Sergeant-san. The cronies were sweating bullets and edging away from the scene.

As the crowd grew larger, Naruto suddenly burst into tears. "Uwah—!! This man is bullying me!! I just came to bring lunch to my husband but he's chasing me away!! Uwah—!! I missed my husband so much and wanted to see him so I made all this lunchboxes... and yet... and yet... UWAH—!!"

Kakashi hid a small grin when Naruto started crying harder. The boy was too cute. There was a sense of déjà vu (Refer to Chapter 2) about this scene, and he suddenly felt immensely sympathetic towards his superior. Taken from the _1000 Haikus of Hatake Kakashi_, is some advice from a married man and also the golden rule of living with Naruto:

_To make him angry_

_Is to embarrass yourself_

_Naruto Banzai _**(5)**

— From Chapter 2 of _1000 Haikus of Hatake Kakashi_: What Not to do to your spouse

"I-I-I... No, it's not like that!! Everyone! Why are you looking at me like that?! It's, it's not what you think!!" Kakashi's sergeant looked around for support from his cronies but they were gone. He started to look like he was on the brink of a mental breakdown. "I-I-I...! Doesn't anyone understand me?!"

'I do... Totally...' A voice filled with pain and immense understanding resonated in Kakashi's heart. Oh, just all those memories were enough to make him cry for mercy from the boy.

"UWAH—!!" Naruto continued that Oscar-winning performance. Some of the on-lookers were already turning hostile towards Sergeant-san.

"Ahhhhhhh—!! KAKASHI! You better remember this!!!"

The blonde wiped his tears, placed his hands on his waist, stuck his tongue at the retreating back of the escaping man and then turned around to give Kakashi a super cute grin filled with bubbles, _Sakura_ petals and sparkles.

'H-How scary...' Kakashi sweated, even though he was really happy that the boy had stood up for him.

_::End Flashback::_

Naruto chuckled at the memory of the jealous and angry looks from the canteen ladies as well as the ugly scowl from that sergeant whenever he made his appearance in the camp.

"Oi brat, did you know that laughing by yourself is a serious sign of mental breakdown/dementia?" Kakashi teased as he stole an octopus-shaped _wiener_ (sausage) from the lunchbox.

"Tch!" Naruto stopped grinning and whacked Kakashi's stealing hand with his chopsticks. "I was just thinking about something funny, pervert. And stop stealing food with your dirty hand! We are supposed to share this with Rin-san and everyone... Here, eat this. But go wash your hands first."

"Yea, yea... So what funny things were you thinking about? A fishcake dancing tango with ramen??"

"...Nothing like that, idiot!" The blonde huffed as the taller man chuckled. "_Mou_. Stop teasing me, old man! Ah, by the way, bring your _yukata _**(6)** along... The evening would be very warm and humid."

"Hmm... _yukata_ huh? Which one should I bring? Hehe... but it's been a while since I saw Rin-chan in a _yukata_..." Kakashi turned pink and started giggling lecherously.

Naruto's face turned dark and in a flat voice, congratulated Kakashi. "Ah is that so. Good for you then. Rin-san said she'll wear a pink one."

"...Jealous?"

"W-W-What?! What are you talking about, idiot? W-Why should I be jealous??"

"... ..."

"I'm not jealous."

Kakashi looked at the back of the blonde and his eyes turned sad. "Yeah, I know you're not... Just pulling your leg, kid." 'Yeah, why should he be jealous...? It's not as if he's in love with me. To him... I'm just a...'

His obsidian eye widen as realization struck him. How silly! He should at least know what he is to Naruto before he decided on that course of action.

So he proceeded to voice his thoughts. "Naruto... what am I to you?"

The blonde stopped chopping the salad and turned a fiery red. 'This pervert... What kind of embarrassing question is that??'

"Oi, what am I to you?" The silver-haired man repeated his question. "Oi!"

"Y-Y-You... What the hell! Why are you asking such a weird question all of a sudden?!"

"Hm, because I don't know, that's why. I'm super curious today... so answer me."

"Y-Y-You... To me, you are..." Naruto blushed and tried to sort out his feelings for the other man. What did he feel about the other man? Hm... What was the other man to him...? It was too complex. Wait a minute... why should he be thinking about that question? In that case, shouldn't he ask what Kakashi thought about him as well?

Thinking that, the blonde repeated the question. "Y-You! What am I to you then?"

"...Uh..." Kakashi sweated. How should he answer him? Should he tell him his true feelings? But then what if he scared the boy away? At least right now, they were like a pair of good friends/brothers/teacher-student that was bordering on the positive side. But it wasn't good enough. Ah, what should he do? It was too complex. So in the end, Kakashi chose the safest way (in his opinion) out.

"Uh, to me, you're a kid. A brat."

"..."

Naruto felt a strange tightness in his chest. He always had that feeling whenever the older man regarded him as a kid/brat or when he mentioned about Rin. He wondered if he was getting some kind of weird heart problems and for a minute, he thought of telling Kakashi that his chest felt weird. It hurt so much he thought he would suffocate. _Why didn't Kakashi understand?_

"...Brat?" The taller man waved his hand in front of his eyes.

Naruto brushed the hand away and turned his gaze away from him. "...Am not a kid."

"Eh?"

The blonde turned around and shot Kakashi a glare. "I'm not a kid! I'm not a kid anymore! So stop calling me a kid or a brat!!"

The taller man was surprised. 'Why is he over-reacting like this? It's not as if it's the first time I called him a kid...'

Naruto must have realized that he had over-reacted as well. Because in the next minute, he had turned back to the chopping board and started chopping the cabbage with renewed vigor (?). However, the previously jovial, teasing mood had mellowed into a somber one.

Kakashi sighed. It was so hard to understand Naruto sometimes. "Fine, fine... I wouldn't call you kid or brat anymore. Then?"

"Then what?" _Chop. Chop. Chop._

"What am I to you?"

"A pervert who likes to read _Icha Icha Paradise_ at home, in school and everywhere else, and a jerk who likes to bully me." _Chop. Chop. Chop._

"...Is... is that _really_ what you think of me?"

'_No, not really...'_ "...Yeah."

"...So I don't make you happy?"

'_No, you do... Sometimes. Many times actually.'_ "...Hm..."

"You are unhappy with me, huh?"

'_No, I'm only unhappy when you're your perverted self.'_ "...Hm..."

"...I see."

'_I was lying.'_ "...Yeah."

* * *

"Kakashi! Naruto-kun!! Over here!!" Rin waved her hand merrily when she spotted the couple. She had woken up extra early so that she could get a good spot on the beach. Looking at the crowd now, it was worth sacrificing that few hours of beauty sleep. 

"Rin-san, nice to see you." Naruto bowed respectfully and sat on the mat.

"Yo, Rin. Where are the rest?" Kakashi asked as he set the picnic basket down by the mat and looked around for signs of Genma and Raidou.

"Ah, they're somewhere out there... Probably chatting with girls or something along those lines..." Rin answered cheerfully as she took out the various boxes from the picnic basket. "Wow... So many boxes of food? Ah... they all look so delicious... Did you prepare them, Naruto-kun?"

The blonde nodded his head and helped to take out the bottles of beverages.

Kakashi thought the drinks looked heavy so he reached to help Naruto. Just as his hand came into contact with the blonde's, the boy drew back his hand hastily and looked away. Kakashi looked a bit surprised before it changed into a look of indifference. This, of course, did not go unnoticed by Rin, but she chose to keep quiet.

Instead, she decided to break the tense atmosphere by praising the youngest member in the group. "Naruto-kun, I heard from the other two that your cooking is delicious. Is it okay if I take a piece first?"

"Ah, sure! Help yourself. I'm confident of the sushi and _tamago-yaki_... **(7)**"The blonde grinned as he took out the boxes of sushi (to Kakashi's distaste) and egg rolls.

"Wah... it looks really delicious. _Itadakimasu_!" Rin started to help herself to the food. "Uwah! This is really, really good! Naruto-kun, you definitely have to teach me how to make this some time! Kakashi, you're so lucky to be eating good food everyday!!"

Kakashi merely smiled mildly.

"Oi! Kakashi!! _Yome_-san!!" cried Genma and Raidou as they dashed to the group with huge grins on their faces. "UWAH! We get to eat your delicious cooking again, _yome_-san!!"

The two men immediately helped themselves to the food (with their bare hands, and got chastised by Rin).

Tears suddenly ran down their cheeks.

"_Shi. A. Wa. Se_!! **(8)**" The two chorused as they continued pigging. Then Genma, with rice all over his face, turned to Naruto suddenly and gripped both of the blonde's hand.

"Naruto-kun! Are you willing to ditch Kakashi and marry me instead? I'll try my best to make you happy!"

Naruto chuckled and pulled his hands from the man's grip. "What are you saying? I..."

"If you can make him the happiest person, you can have him; I don't really mind." Kakashi interrupted before the blonde could finish his sentence.

"Eh? Really?" Genma went along, thinking Kakashi was jesting around.

"Yeah... but he's a kid so you got to be extremely patient with him." The silver-haired man spoke in a sagely tone.

"Hahaha... Naruto-kun, what do you say then?" Genma joked.

"I... I have to go to the toilet!" The blonde cried before taking off towards the rows of stores nearby.

Genma and Raidou chuckled. "Ah, he ran away."

Kakashi shrugged and just gazed at the sea. The only female in the group looked worriedly at her friend and his runaway spouse before sighing and shaking her head lightly. 'This couple is a troublesome pair.' She thought as she munched on a piece of fish. 'This tastes really good; Naruto-kun would become a really good housewife.'

* * *

Naruto ran and ran till he reached a deserted corner of the beach. His chest hurt so badly! And, and he felt so angry! He hurt so much and felt so furious that he had to escape from there before he reached his limit and started throwing his tantrum. He didn't want Kakashi to look bad in front of his good friends. Then he got even more mad for thinking that way. 

'...Tch! Actually... Why the hell should I care if he looked good or bad?!' The boy thought madly as he clenched one fist and slammed it into a nearby tree. 'What the hell. What the hell? What the hell!! Who does he think he is? How could he just give me away like that?? ...Why should I bloody care what he thinks anyway? He's just an idiotic, perverted jerk!!'

"'_If you can make him the happiest person, you can have him; I don't really mind_,' he said... Who the hell does he think he is? ...What the hell does he take me for?!" Naruto growled and slammed both fists into the tree to vent his anger. "That idiot. I hate him."

Then like a deflated balloon, he slid down to the floor and buried his face in his hands. "I hate him!"

His hands were wet when he lifted them away from his face.

* * *

He didn't know how long he had sat there, curled up like a ball beside the tree. One thing was for sure though, he had been there throughout the whole afternoon and past evening because the sky was turning dark and the surroundings were silent except for sounds of the crickets. 

"So you're awake now?" A familiar baritone voice drifted by his side, startling him.

"Hiiiii!! W-Who? P-Pervert? Is that you??"

There was an exasperated sigh before he felt a warm body beside him. "Yeah, yeah... I'm a pervert. So you should hide from me and go back to the group. You had Rin and the rest of them worried when you ran off and didn't come back for hours. You're lucky I'm good at tracking people or else you would be abandoned here."

Naruto scowled. "Yeah, I should apologize to them for making them worried..."

"Yeah, now come on... My body's all stiff from sitting here all day..." Kakashi grumbled as he stretched his body and rubbed the kinks from his joints and numbness in his legs. "Here..." He offered his hand to the boy who was still looking away from him and pouting.

"..."

"What? You want me to carry you?"

"..."

"Oi, say something."

The blonde bent his head and mumbled something that was lost to anything except the tree he was leaning on.

"Can't hear you."

The blonde blushed and whispered slightly louder. "I said, my legs are numb."

Kakashi stared at the fidgeting boy who was still blushing madly then leaned down and offered his back to his spouse. Naruto reached out slowly to the taller man and shyly held onto his back. Then in an instant he was piggy-backed by the older man.

The couple walked silently when Kakashi chuckled abruptly.

"W-What? Don't laugh like that all of a sudden..." Naruto complained and held on tighter.

"Haha, sorry... but I realized something... You're just like an _Onbu_! **(9)** Hahahaha..."

"What? What the heck is an _Onbu_?!"

Kakashi smiled. He could already see the confused pout forming on the blonde's face. "Well, you see... An _Onbu_ is a mythical creature that rides on other people's back. It is said to be very big and fierce, and it..."

As the scarecrow continued his tale, the blonde snuggled tighter to the warm back and slowly drifted to sleep. 'He's so warm... This feels so familiar... When I was a kid...? Hm... Zzzzz...'

* * *

"Eh? You want to go to the _Tanabata_ **(10)** festival with me??" Naruto exclaimed. 

"Yeah. Why do you sound so surprised?" Sasuke asked over the phone. Naruto could almost see the frown forming on the brunette's face.

"I might not be going to the festival."

"Why?"

"Because... it's uh, inconvenient for me."

"How?"

"It just is. Besides, I never ever been to one before... it's for lovers and stuff anyway."

"...Aren't we lovers?"

"Eh?"

Sasuke repeated the question again. "Aren't we lovers? We are dating after all."

"Uh, oh yeah... that's right. Ahaha... Uh, Sasuke, I think, uh..."

"Hm? What is it?"

"...N-Nevermind. Uh, okay then. I'll meet you. But I can't stay for too long okay?"

"...Fine. I'll pick you up at..."

"No! Uh, I mean, it's better if I meet you there directly. Hm, it's being held in the village centre right? So I'll meet you near Ichiraku okay?"

"Yeah. No problem."

"Okay... Ah! Have to hang up now. I'll meet you there yeah? Bye!"

Three knocks rapped on his door and it opened to reveal a tall silver-haired man in boxers and a Hawaiian T-shirt. Kakashi strode into the room like it belonged to him (which actually did belong to him until he got evicted from there and made to stay in the other room when Tsunade and his mother threatened him) and sat on the bed.

"Oi brat, let's go to the _Tanabata_ festival together. I heard from Jiraiya jii-sama that you seldom go to these festivals so I thought I should bring you there. Do you need to get a new _yukata_? You complained that the other one was too girlish right?"

Naruto sweated. "A-Ah... Uhm, regarding that, you see... Uh, I think I might be going with a friend... Uhm, but I could meet you later in the evening... Maybe we could watch the fireworks together?"

A silver brow rose. "...Friend... huh?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"_Tanabata_ is usually for lovers though. This friend of yours..."

Sweat was pouring down the boy's back and he looked away from Kakashi in case his eyes betrayed him.

"...must be very close. Your best friend or something?" The silver-haired man finished.

Naruto mentally heaved a sigh of relief. Then he turned back to the older man and nodded. "Uh, yeah... we are quite... close. Uhm, but I'll try and meet..."

"No, never mind." The taller man got up from the bed and slowly walked out of the room. "It's okay. I just thought I should bring you to one of those festivals since you've never been to one before. Ah well, it's probably more enjoyable if you go with a ... close friend anyway. Ah well, I'm tired... Good night, Naruto."

In the apartment, one resident was immersed in guilt and confusion while the other was wondering what he could do to make the person he loves happy.

That night, both of them could not sleep.

A few days later, it was the _Tanabata_.

* * *

Naruto gingerly made his way to the door after donning on his pale blue yukata. He stopped at the living room where the silver haired man was lounging and approached him. 

"Hey... come along. The fireworks would be very pretty and... Don't you want to make a wish? I heard that the bamboo groves near the temple at the festival grounds are very spiritual so wishes hung on them have a higher chance to come true... Come along." Naruto smiled and held out his hand to the older man.

Kakashi removed his gaze from the television and fixed them on the blonde. There was no doubt that Naruto was good looking and incredibly adorable. That pale blue yukata was a size too big so it made the blonde looked smaller than usual; almost petite compared to many men his age; and it accentuated the boy's sky-blue eyes and soft-looking gold hair. With his cheeks flushing a light pink, Naruto was beautiful. Kakashi felt very reluctant to let the boy leave. Of course he knew who this _close friend_ was. Of course he wanted to go badly; it was a significant festival afterall — going together meant that they were lovers.

'But that's not the relationship we have now. And Naruto won't have a fun time with me...' The scarecrow thought sadly as he sat himself upright so that he could reach the boy's yukata and help him fix his belt. Then he straightened the boy's outfit and smiled. "Yup, you look really cute now."

The blonde turned red and averted his eyes.

His spouse chuckled. "Have a good time, Naruto. Bring back loads of souvenirs."

"...But..."

"Don't worry about me. Actually, I'm not feeling too good so it's better for me to stay at home and rest. Make loads of wishes for me in my stead okay?"

"But..."

"Naruto, this is the third thing I want you to do for me: go and have fun at the festival. And stay out of trouble. Now get going. Shoo, shoo!"

"...I understand. _Ittekimasu._"

"Aa. _Itterasshai_!" Kakashi smiled and ruffled the blonde's hair.

"I'll buy loads of food for you so rest at home. See ya."

"Yup! Geez, get going already..." _'Before I break and keep you from leaving...'_

"Bye." The door clicked shut. He shut his eyes as the '_karan-koron' _sounds from Naruto's wooden clogs gradually faded into silence.

_'Naruto... ...Come back.'_ For the first time in many years, Kakashi felt like crying.

* * *

"You're late." Was the greeting from Sasuke when he saw him. 

Naruto smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Shall we go then?"

"Yeah... Here."

"Eh?"

"Hold my hand."

"Uhn."

The two boys walked together hand-in-hand. The brunette was wondering if the smaller boy beside him had noticed the _yukata_ he was donning while the blonde was immersed in thoughts of a certain silver-haired man.

"Naruto."

"Hm?"

"You look really cute."

"Hm... Thanks. You too, Sasuke." The taller boy blushed as Naruto went back to his thoughts.

* * *

For some reason, Naruto couldn't stop thinking about Kakashi. Everything was so beautiful at the festival and he suddenly wished that the older man could be there with him to enjoy the decorations, composed of large colorful streamers and lanterns. 

"Naruto? Are you okay? You looked a bit ...distracted."

"Ah, sorry. Just thinking about ...something."

Sasuke frowned. He liked Naruto a lot but he really disliked it when Naruto gets preoccupied by something when they were together. He wanted the boy's attention all to himself.

"Oi dobe, come along... let's go look at the games..."

"Uhn."

Suddenly a group of girls spotted the two of them and started squealing.

"Kyaa—!! It's Sasuke-sama!! Kyaa—!!" One of them screamed then suddenly, the horde of girls started rushing towards them.

"Ah, Naruto!"

"S-Sasuke!"

The smaller boy felt someone jostling him from the side and then someone else bumped into him hard. He lost grip of his companion's hand and got shoved further and further away until he was on the outer perimeter of the grounds.

"..Those crazy fans!!" Naruto cursed as he made his way back to where he last saw Sasuke... only to find that the other boy had already vacated that area. "Mou... this is so crappy! If only Kakashi was here!!" He muttered offhandedly.

'Yeah... If only he was here...' The blonde thought sadly as he walked towards a stall selling masks. His eyes were drawn to a fox-designed and another one that looks like a scarecrow. 'Ah, that one would be totally suitable for him!'

"Jii-san! How much is this?"

Naruto wore his fox mask and held the scarecrow one in his hand. Feeling a little hungry, he walked to some of the food stall. 'Ah! _Takoyaki_!! _Yakisoba_!! _Tempura_!! _Ringo Ame_!! **(11)** Hm... but he doesn't really like tempura and other foods that are flavored too strongly... Hm, maybe yakisoba then!'

"Jii-san! Two servings of yakisoba, one with less sauce, and one _takoyaki_!"

"Baa-san! One _ringo ame_!!"

The blonde went on to buy more souvenirs for the person plaguing his thoughts and all too soon, he had forgotten about Sasuke, who had started a frantic search for his smaller companion the moment he got rid of those persistent, pesky fan-girls.

* * *

'Shit. He didn't pick up his phone and there are too many people around!' Sasuke scratched his head irritatedly and huffed. 'Argh! This is infuriating!!' 

Just when he was ready to give up, he caught a flash of gold and blue at the corner of the festival grounds and dashed towards that figure.

"Naruto!"

The blonde turned around in surprise. Before he could recover from the shock, he felt a pair of arms encircling around his waist, pulling him to a taller body and a pair of lips attached to his own.

'Kakashi? No, it's not... it's Sasuke... ...I-I don't want this.' Naruto thought as he tried to push the other boy away from him.

"NARUTO???"

"NARUTO!!! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!? OI!!!"

Sasuke finally let go of him and Naruto immediately turned around to the source of voice.

'Ero-jii... Tsunade baa-sama! And ...Otou-sama and Kaa-sama!!'

"Oh no..."

**::To Be Continued::

* * *

**

A/N 1:

_1) Moe_: Blossom. Or burn (with passion).

_2) Matsuri_: Festival

_3) Teme_: A very, very rude way of saying 'you'.

_4) Ore-sama_: A very, very arrogant way of addressing oneself.

_5) Banzai_: 万歳。'Long live (Naruto)'

_6) Yukata_: A cotton, lightweight kimono that is worn mostly in summer and bathhouses

_7) Tamago-yaki_: Fried egg. This is usually in the shape of egg rolls.

_8) Shi. A. Wa. Se(Shiawase)_: 幸せ。 Meaning blissful/happy.

_9) Onbu_: That little furry creature in one of the filler episodes of Naruto.

_10) Tanabata_: 七夕。 A festival (literally translated to Seven Evenings and usually celebrated on 7th July) that celebrates the meeting of Orihime and Hikoboshi, the lovers that are only allowed to meet once a year via the milky way (river of stars across the sky bridging the two stars (lovers) together.

_11) Takoyaki_!! _Yakisoba_!! _Tempura_!! _Ringo Ame_!!: Octopus ball!! Fried noodles!! (Deep-) Fried food (seafood or vegetables) in batter!! Apple Candy!!

A/N 2:

Sorry for the long wait. Exams are very scary things. X(

Thanks for the reviews. :)

Well, I'm sad to say that FIRST LOVE would be finishing in a couple of chapters (or in one very long one). There will most likely be a sequel to this story; I do hope to showcase the family life of the couple via their kid. (GASP!!)

To answer a few questions (because my email is wonky):

1) KNOW-san: Sure. ::smiles::

2) Iruka isn't really evil... just a bit jealous and a tad vindictive.

3) Sasuke would be approaching Kakashi in the next chapter actually, and that would most probably lead to the moment everyone is waiting for. XD So stay tuned!

4) Gothic Kacie: I was laughing like mad when I saw your reivew. Good idea, actually... XD But nahz...

In the next exciting episode of FIRST LOVE:

Sasuke explodes!

"_Why did you keep it from me? ...WHY DID YOU KEEP IT FROM ME?!" _

The elders explode too!

"_How could you cheat on Kakashi like that? How would you feel if you were him, Naruto? Huh??!" _

The power of friendship:

"_Don't worry, Naruto! We'll do our best to help you!!" _

"_You guys..."_

"_Haha, don't start crying now, Naru-chan. You're the baby of the group but if you start crying, we'll feel troubled by your tears, ya know?" _

"_...Uhn. Thanks." _

Everyone knows?

"_Ladies and Gentlemen!! I'm sure you guys don't know this... but Kakashi-sensei here... actually has a spouse! And it's one of the students from our school!!" _

Naruto's feelings!

"_I... I think I knew that I love him all along... but I was an idiot to ignore the feelings inside me. I... I... I'm sorry." _

Finale?

_Please... Please let me be in time!! Kakashi! Don't leave me!!_

"_Kakashi!!" _

All these and more in the next chapter of FIRST LOVE!!

As usual, please give me feedback and comments via the cute, lil' button below. Don't be shy!!


	15. FINAL STEP

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fiction piece, meant for entertainment only. But one day, this would be the real plot for the manga once I buy over Naruto from Kishimoto-sensei. As mentioned in Chapter I, the plot was adapted from a movie (Korean, I think) called Young Bride (I think). Please check out the movie because the lead actress is very cute. :)

Warning(s): AU (because I totally don't know what's going on in Naruto anymore). OCC-ness, pathetic attempts at humor, revival of deceased characters and shounen-ai. Very, very, very long chapter.

* * *

_Have you ever felt your heartbeat accelerating and your cheeks flushing at the mere thought of a person?_

_Have you ever thought of a person for every single moment, awake or dreaming?_

_Have you ever love someone so much that you would think of doing anything and everything to make them happy? _

_What happens when your First Love becomes your One and Only Love?_

**FIRST LOVE**

**Final Step: ****I remember everything. ****This is why you're my First Love**

"Oh no." 

Those two words slipped out of his lips as he witnessed something akin to an apocalypse happening right before his eyes.

Why did his relatives appear at that time, in that moment, at that spot in the whole of the gigantic festival grounds?

If Naruto was a believer in fate and the stars, he would conclude that this unfortunate event attributed from all the negative energies and bad karma accumulated from his past misgivings; or maybe his one of his stars had just burst into a supernova. As he wasn't, he could only curse at everyone's bad timing and that the stupid scarecrow had not been there with him.

"_KORA—!! Nani o shiteiru?!?_" **(1)** His grandfather screamed as he took (threateningly) long strides towards him. Naruto squinted and counted the number of veins throbbing on the old man's temple. There were 5. Tsunade baa-baa wasn't far behind; she had 3 and some wrinkles were appearing around the corner of her pursed lips. Naruto sweated; he could literally feel his life span shortening as the two senior citizens made their way towards him

He turned anxious blue eyes to a very confused Sasuke and sweated more.

'They'll kill him too. I can't drag him down in this. No other way around it, I guess...' The solution to the situation was clear.

The blonde grabbed Sasuke's hand and made a run for it. Behind them, the senior citizens shouted louder and gave chase. As if to _commemorate_ this disaster, the sky was suddenly alit with myriads of firework of all colors. Simultaneously, the festival grounds went into uproars of cheer and dance, which thankfully bought some time for the escaping (or eloping, depending on your perspective) couple.

* * *

The two boys wheezed and tried to catch their breath when they finally made it out of the noisy and crowded streets in one piece. Unfortunately for Naruto (and Kakashi), all the food he had bought had been forgotten and left behind. At least, he still had the mask in his hand. The blonde briefly wondered if his grandfather and the rest would tell Kakashi. A wave of panic and fear flared in his chest when he thought about that; he wondered how Kakashi would 'cook' him when he reached home later. 

'Maybe he would surrender me to _Ero-jii_ and _Baa-baa_ first then grill me over our stove. Or maybe he would tie me to the chair and make me watch him eat all the miso ramen that I had been stashing away...' Blue eyes turned a bit watery at all the possible torture that awaited him.

"What was that?"

"Eh?"

The brunette was still panting from the impromptu marathon. "I asked, 'What was that?'... Why did we have to run away from them? They are your relatives, right?"

"Uhh..." Answered Naruto smoothly. 'Shit! I'm not ready for this!!'

"What's going on, _dobe_?" Sasuke folded his arms once he finally regained his breath. "Why are we running? They don't know that you're dating me??"

"Ah! Yeah! That's right!! They don't know... A-And they don't really approve that I'm dating at this age so I had to get us away from there... Uh, yeah." The blonde fibbed and averted his gaze.

"Ah really?" The Uchiha frowned. Somehow, that reason seemed extremely fishy to him. Besides, wasn't Naruto supposed to be engaged to someone? Wait a minute! Engaged...! He had forgotten all about it in excitement and bliss when Naruto had agreed to go out with him.

"Naruto. There's something I want you to be honest with me. Okay?"

The blonde looked at him curiously and nodded.

"Are you... Are you, maybe, attached to someone?"

Baby-blue eyes widen. "Uh, what do you mean, Sasuke?"

"Like... maybe engaged?"

"H-H-Huh?!? W-W-What are y-y-you s-saying? Ha...Hahahaha!!" The smaller boy stammered nervously.

Sasuke looked like he was about to say something when Naruto's cell phone started ringing. The two looked at each other for a minute before the taller boy sighed and made a motion with his hands; the blonde reached for his phone. He flipped it open with a deep sense of trepidation.

"Naruto! Where are you right now?" An uncharacteristically loud and anxious baritone voice called out from the ear-piece. Sasuke raised his brow at that. 'Isn't that Kakashi-sensei?'

"I'm at uh, I'm near the _Kitsune-Kami Shinto_. **(2)** W-What's wrong?"

"Is it the deserted one on the outskirts? Stay there and don't move! I'm coming right now."

"Yeah. W-Wait! What's wrong?"

"It's Jiraiya jii-sama! He had a relapse!! Something about seeing something too stimulating and he got too fired up. My parents won't tell me what he saw. Tsunade baa-sama sounds very stressed too. Wait for me; I'll go pick you up right now!"

"What?!!" It must be his fault that his grandfather had an attack! Blue eyes watered.

As if sensing the blonde's emotions, Kakashi whispered in a soothing baritone. "Don't cry. Jii-sama will be fine."

"...Uhn."

"I'll be there in 10 minutes. Bye." ::Click::

Naruto flipped his phone shut and turned to Sasuke. "Uh, Sasuke, is it okay if you go home first? …I'll call you again okay?"

"But..."

"Please... I really need to be alone for a while."

Seeing the distressed expression on the smaller boy's face, Sasuke sighed and rubbed his head. "I get it. Call me when you're home so I know you're okay, alright?"

"Uhn. Thanks! And... sorry."

The taller boy threw him a small smile and waved. "Don't worry about it."

Naruto sighed when the other boy finally disappeared from his line of vision. He sat on the stone steps and waited.

* * *

"Naruto!!" Kakashi called out into the darkness. When he didn't receive a reply immediately, he panicked. Something might have happened to that brat! The temple grounds were so dark and deserted; any crime could have happened there and no one would know until he (the damn brat) was reported missing. The silver-haired man jogged to the entrance of the temple and called again. "Naruto!! Where are you?! Answer me!!" 

"K-Kakashi?" A small, meek voice caught his attention and he ran towards that source. 'He sounds different...'

"Naruto? Are you okay? Are you hurt somewhere??"

A bundle of gold and blue suddenly launched at him, causing him to almost topple with the added weight.

"Kakashi! W-What will happen to Jii-san? It's my fault... I shouldn't have... W-What should I do? What should I do?? I... I don't have anymore family other than Jii-san... what should I do??" The blonde rambled almost hysterically.

As he sat there in the bleak darkness, many different scenarios, all ending with his grandfather in extreme critical situations, flashed through his mind, and the guilt and worry started building up. His wild imagination was driving him insane and when he saw the older man, everything just burst from a proverbial dam labeled 'Naruto's Emotions'.

'This is no good… He's on the edge of going berserk…' The taller man held the frantic blonde in his arms and bit his lips. "Naruto. Stop. It's going to be okay. I swear. Stop. If you don't, I... I'm going to kiss you."

The words probably didn't register in the blonde's mind as he rambled on madly. "B-But you don't understand!! It's all my fault. If he d-d-dies, then I would be the killer... I... MMPH!!"

Warm, thin lips pressed over his and large hands wrapped around his waist comfortingly. Strangely, even though he knew it was his pervert husband kissing and holding him, he didn't felt... _weird_. In fact, it felt... _good_. Naruto closed his eyes and subsequently wrapped his arms around the man's neck, wanting more contact. He felt Kakashi's tongue prodding his lips, and he slowly opened them with a small sigh. 'Oh no... He's turning me into a pervert too. Hmm... So this is an _adult's kiss_... Hmm, feels nice...'

Then another thought infiltrated his mind. 'Warm lips!! I'm kissing his lips!! This means...'

His eyes shot open and he quickly took in the visage of the silver-haired man. Mismatched eyes stared back at him in amusement and slight apprehension. Then the taller man slowly pulled away and with that, the full features of Hatake Kakashi were revealed.

Naruto gaped. 'Chou kakkoii ya...' **(3)**

He vaguely registered his spouse holding his chin, and shutting it to close his gaping mouth, before placing a small kiss on his temple. Then he pulled up that piece of evil cloth and his eyes creased into happy crescents. "Heh… That got you calmed down right? Don't worry! Jiraiya jii-sama will be fine. Now let's go see him before he thinks we have forsaken him."

The smaller boy nodded dumbly and walked beside his spouse. Minutes later, he finally snapped out of it. "Kakashi."

"Hm?"

"...Who told you to kiss me?"

Cold sweat ran down the scarecrow's back and that slight apprehension returned with the impact of a sledgehammer. "...Ahaha..."

"...Don't 'Ahaha' me—!!"

"Hiiiiiii—!!"

_When he gets upset_

_(Kissing is no good)_

_12 bowls of miso ramen_

_Is more effective_

— Taken from _1000 Haikus of Hatake Kakashi_, on 'Making up with Naruto'

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke felt lost and extremely frustrated as he trudged back to his house. He had so many unanswered questions milling in his mind but one issue, or rather person, rang out most starkly. 

Why had Kakashi called Naruto? How did Kakashi know Naruto's number? What, exactly, is Kakashi to Naruto?

'Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. Naruto and Kakashi. Wait a minute...' Obsidian eyes widened as a tiny file buried in the _Recycle Bin_ of Sasuke's mind popped open. 'Wasn't _Hatake Kakashi_ the name of the man that Naruto was supposed to be engaged to...?'

The last few months flashed by Sasuke's mind and then suddenly everything_ clicked_ — all those half-glares Kakashi shot him when he thought Sasuke wasn't looking; all those soft tender looks he threw Naruto when he thought no one was looking; and all the nervous looks Naruto sported in Art class. (He still didn't understand that sushi question though.)

Then came another more pressing question: if Naruto was with Kakashi, why had he agreed to go out with Sasuke? Did he truly love him? Or was it all a sick game for that notorious blonde prankster?

'If it's all just a game to him...' Sasuke clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He might just end up killing the blonde. 'Just the thought of him seeing someone else behind me is killing me... I can't look for him when I'm like this.'

'If I can't look for that dobe...' The Uchiha smirked. "...I would just have to confront Kakashi-_sensei _then."

* * *

Kakashi paled. 

So that's why Jiraiya jii-sama had a relapse. This was bad.

"Haha-ue, why didn't you tell me over the phone?" Kakashi growled.

Yaeko sighed. "If I told you, would you bring Naruto here?"

"He might get hurt inside!!"

Sakumo huffed and folded his arms. "Idiot son. You're too soft on him, that's why he went on an affair. It's unbelievable; he betrayed you and here, you're thinking about his safety? Have you no pride as a man?"

Kakashi scowled at his father. "Naruto's safety is more important than my pride, Chichi-ue. He went on an affair because he liked that person; it has nothing to do with how soft or hard I am on him!! Besides, it's none of anyone's business how I treat Naruto…"

His father shot up from his seat in anger. "What did you say?!"

"That's enough, the two of you. Kakashi, you knew about this affair before, don't you?" Yaeko asked as she patted her husband's back to calm the infuriated man.

"What!?!?!" Sakumo roared.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Kakashi plopped onto the seat, closest to the door of the ward, in exhaustion and clasped his hands tightly.

'Please let nothing happen to Naruto…'

* * *

"Naruto, what have you got to say?" Tsunade started as the boy kneeled before her and Jiraiya. 

"I..." Naruto fidgeted. To be honest, he truly didn't know what to say. What did they expect him to say anyway?

"You were kissing that brat. **Why?**"

"...I ..." He wanted to say it was Sasuke who had kissed him but it didn't matter; it was a fact that he was going out with the other boy behind their backs after all.

"How long have you been with that brat? Before or after you were with Kakashi??"

"... After."

"Why?" Naruto didn't know how to answer that question so he looked down.

A silence enveloped them. Jiraiya lost his patience and exploded finally. "How could you cheat on Kakashi?!? How would you feel if you were him, Naruto? Huh??! How would you feel if Kakashi was going out with someone behind your back?!?"

Naruto bit his lips. His chest was hurting again. 'I might die…'

Tsunade placed a hand on the older man's shoulder to calm him a bit before turning to the kneeling boy with a stern gaze. "Naruto, why?! I never knew you would do such a thing!! How could you do this?!? If you had someone you liked, it was okay to tell us. At least, no one would be hurt by this _infidelity_. How could you go out with someone else after the marriage?!"

Naruto pressed a hand to his chest. He wasn't listening to Tsunade as the image of Kakashi kissing Rin flashed across his mind, Jiraiya's words having left a deep impact.

"This is shameful...! I've let down Kakashi and the Hatake couple!!" His grandfather continued as he repeatedly pounded his fist on the bed to blow some steam. "If you were born a few generations earlier, I would have asked you to cut open your stomach! A _seppuku_ would have been better than living on like this!!"

Ah, hurts so bad… The thought of Kakashi touching someone else, seeing someone else was terribly painful. Naruto wondered why that was so.

Oblivious that the boy was no longer paying attention, Jiraiya went on. "How could things turn out like this?! What would your dead parents say::Sigh:: Why did it turn out this way? The both of you were supposed to be living together happily like what your parents wanted for you and along the way; maybe you could regain your memories and live a fuller life without feeling like something is missing..."

Naruto snapped out of his mental processes as he caught onto the last few words.

"What? My memories?? What has that got to do with anything??"

His grandfather glared. "NOTHING!! The bottom-line is, you have done a disgraceful thing and you ought to be punished!!"

"I did nothing wrong!! I didn't want to be forced into a marriage!! And I refuse to believe what you just said!! I want you to tell me what my memories have to do with anything!!"

"Y-You! How dare you!!" Utterly livid — Naruto had never, ever talked back to him in such a way before (but the boy was currently at the prime of his rebellious stage) — Jiraiya lost it. He slapped the blonde across the face so hard the boy actually bit the inside of his cheeks.

Naruto glared back at his grandfather and assessed the damage did to the inside of his mouth. The taste of copper and something bitter probably meant a bad thing. "You scammed us into it! And now you're hiding something from me. Why are you doing all these?!"

"You insolent brat!!" Another hard slap across the cheek.

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Kakashi rushed in. "Jiraiya jii-sama! Please stop!! Naruto..."

The elders turned quiet as the tall man walked to a seething Naruto and pulled the boy away from the room. Once they were outside in the corridor, he drew the boy into an embrace and turned worried eyes to the quiet boy in his arms.

"You okay?" Kakashi asked as he dabbed a cloth to Naruto's injuries to staunch the blood flow.

"..."

"Oh yeah, dumb question; of course you're not okay... I'm sorry. I should have been inside there with you. Bear with the pain a bit more... I'll get a doctor." Kakashi murmured soothingly and ruffled the golden hair before drawing away.

"No!" A smaller hand shot out and grabbed onto him. "Don't leave me..." 'I don't want you to see or touch someone else…'

The taller man looked at the boy puzzled. Usually the strong-willed boy would scream for first aid already. Blood was pouring out from the cut lips and tears were welling up and gathering along the sides of those beautiful eyes, yet the boy was asking him to stay?! It was strange.

Naruto repeated. "Don't leave me, Kakashi..."

The scarecrow vaguely felt a sense of déjà vu. A similar scene had happened many years ago with a much smaller blonde and a younger Kakashi. That day, he had no choice but to leave. 'But this time...' the silver-haired man thought as he enfolded the boy in his arms again. 'I'll stay with you until you have enough of me.'

"I'll be by you forever. Promise."

"...Uhn... ...Thank you... and sorry." 'So warm…'

* * *

"_Naru-chan? Naru-chan, say hello to Kakashi nii-chan! Here!" A kind voice and a warm hand... He looked up to see a beautiful blonde woman smiling at him. _

'_This must be Mother...' _

_He looked at his own body. His hands were chubby and tiny and he was decked in a pretty, Sakura-patterned girl's kimono. Judging by his height and things around him, he was probably pretty small. _

"_Naru-chan?" His mother called again. He looked up at her and tried to memorize her features. "Say hello to Kakashi nii-sama! And remember your manners." _

_He turned his huge, watery eyes to an older boy with spiky silver hair and a blank look on his face. 'This is Kakashi... He looks so young... And that stupid mask! How old did he start wearing that?!' _

_Looking at the smiling face of his mother and then remembering his manners, he bowed neatly. "Konbanwa Kakachi nii-chama!" __**(4) **__His eyes widen. Why was he speaking like that?? _

_His mother giggled. "Good try. But let's try again okay? Say, Kakashi nii-sama!" _

_His brows creased in concentration as he tried again. "...Kakachi nii-chama!" _

_Kakashi brought a hand to his lips to hide his smile before reaching a hand to pat his head. "Kaka-nii would do, Naru-chan." _

_A strange feeling surged within him, propelling him to raise his head and gaze at the older smiling boy. Then lumbering unsteadily in his small wooden clogs, he launched himself towards the other boy and hugged his legs tightly with a large grin on his face. "Kaka-nii!!" _

He awoke to the sound of the ringing theme to _Ultraman Tiga_. 'Dream...? Felt so real...' Naruto thought as he got out of bed and smack his alarm clock to turn off the alarm.

"Naruto? I'm coming in." Kakashi called out from outside his bedroom.

"Uhn!"

"And the menu today is... OKAYU!!" **(5)**

"Eh? Again? Mou... I hate this..."

As Naruto gingerly took a spoonful of porridge (Kakashi had insisted on feeding him), he gradually forgot the dream and continued to bask in the silver-haired man's presence.

* * *

"Nightmare. This is a nightmare." Naruto muttered as he whipped the paint brush across the white surface. Summer break had ended rather uneventfully. Then it was suddenly the new term. 

After the event with his grandfather at the hospital, Kakashi had brought Naruto to a clinic for check-up. Turned out Naruto had suffered a bit of a concussion and some major damage to his teeth from the two blows. He had to recuperate at home and take only liquids and soft foods. Throughout the rest of the summer break, Kakashi had stayed by his side like he promised.

'Yet the minute school opens, he gets dragged away by those fans of his from class... Mou...' Naruto sulked as he slid the brush across the feature or point of his project — it was a tree. A huge tree standing out in the foreground with many smaller trees in the background. In fact, his whole project stemmed from a very simple concept. It was the green concept; he was going to paint a forest. He thought this might increase environmental awareness amongst the students. The fact that it was relatively simple to complete was an added bonus. He definitely didn't paint a forest just because it was easy. After a couple hours of painting, he had more or less finished painting the huge tree and some portions of the grass.

Naruto took a step back to admire his handiwork. If he didn't know, he would say that the picture was drawn by a pre-school kid. He sighed and wondered what kind of hell and terror would rain down on him on _D-Day_, more publicly known as the _Ha-Ou Gakuen_ _Cultural Festival Opening Day_. That would be in 8 days' time. He sighed again as images of a devil-fied Iruka hovered around him and cackled happily while Kakashi stood to the side tied to a stake. His days were numbered, it seems.

As he sunk deeper into depression, a familiar voice rang out behind him exclaiming, "Whoa!! What the hell is that?!"

He whirled around to glower at the intruder, or rather, the group of intruders.

A monotonous voice added. "A random picture drawn by a pre-school kid would probably look better than that."

'What!? How dare they insult me...? It's definitely above pre-school level!! These guys here... Must be here to rub salt into my wounds.'

Naruto seethed and his scowl intensified. "What do you guys want?"

Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru and Chouji stood at the entrance and stared back at him.

A few seconds passed as the two sides engaged in a staring match.

It was finally broken when Naruto folded his arms irritatedly and growled. "So what do you guys want?"

Then the four boys raised their right hands and reached behind them...

(Naruto thought they were going to brandish their weapons and reached for his paint brush. If they were going to bully him at least he could paint them in defense.)

...and whipped out... paint brushes.

The five of them stood with the paint brushes in their hands and the stoic, serious looks on their faces. They continued in the stare-down, this time with brushes held proudly in their hands above their heads, until Naruto tilted his head bewilderedly.

"N-Nani o?"

Kiba rolled his eyes and shook out the kinks from his shoulders. "Finally..." he muttered. "What does it look like Naru-baka? Of course we are here to help you."

Shikamaru immediately ejected a sigh. "This is so troublesome... You better appreciate this."

"What?" The brief notion that he was hallucinating entered his mind. 'Must be all the stress from painting this damn thing... and other things...'

He must have looked terribly confused because Chouji smiled _that_ smile of his and very slowly repeated, "We are your reinforcement. Don't worry, Naruto! We'll do our best to help you!!"

'Eh? But so suddenly? Why?' Naruto wanted to ask but the four of them were already waving their brushes and walking towards him.

"If you're thinking we're here to sabotage you, stop it." Shikamaru commented and started dipping his brush into the green paint. "Even though we disagreed with what you did, you're still our friend."

"Besides, Sensei is covering up for us so its fine..." Kiba laughed and happily mixed more paint together.

"S-Sensei?"

Shikamaru smacked Kiba's head then gave the confused blonde a small smile. "Don't worry about it."

"You guys..." Naruto abruptly felt something wet on his cheeks and he gently rubbed his eyes.

Shino pushed his shades up further the bridge of his nose. "No need to be so touched." Then he proceeded to paint the wall... with a tiny smile on his usually stoic face.

Kiba rubbed his head embarrassedly. "Hey, hey, don't start crying now, Naru-chan. Even though you're the baby of the group and we're kinda used to your bawling; if you start crying now, we'll still feel troubled by your tears, ya know?"

The blonde nodded and rubbed his eyes. "...Uhn. Thanks."

The five of them started work on the wall while laughing every few minutes for no apparent reason. It was great to be with his friends again.

The question about which _sensei_ was temporarily forgotten.

* * *

Naruto was happy. The work on the wall was quite alright. Even though it was still very simple, at least the paint-job had upgraded from a pre-school kid's to a middle-schooler's. At that rate, he could probably finish well before the D-Day. Also, he was on talking terms with his friends again! This was the best thing that had happened so far. He couldn't wait to share this news with Kakashi. 

A lot of things had changed between him and the other man since the _Tanabata_ incident. For one, he thought he felt his heart fluttering whenever he was with the man. Another thing that really bothered him was how much he blushed when he saw the man half naked these days. He wondered if all this was because of the 'adult kiss' they had shared or the fact that he had seen Kakashi's face. Also, Sasuke had not been talking to him since then. Same applied for his grandfather and Tsunade baa-san. He sighed again and his happy mood dispersed.

* * *

"_I have to go. I'm sorry, Naru-chan…" _

"_No!! Don't go!! Please! Don't leave Naru-chan…" _

_A warm body held him close. "I-I have no choice too! If I could, I want to escape all this and be with you forever and ever, Naruto! But there's a war now and my squad has been chosen…"_

_He held that warm body tighter and sobbed. "No. Naru-chan don't want this! Naru-chan hates this!! Why? Why does Kaka-nii have to leave me? Kaa-chan and Tou-chan are gone. Naru-chan don't want Kaka-nii to leave too!!"_

_Obsidian eyes became a bit wet. He knew the older boy couldn't stand to see his tears so this was his last tactic. "Don't cry. You know I hurt when you cry, right?" _

_He nodded and rubbed his eyes. He knew Kakashi hurt most when he saw him get hurt or cries. He didn't want Kakashi to hurt. "Kaka-nii, will you forget Naru-chan? Will you, will you leave me like Kaa-chan and Tou-chan?"_

_The taller boy smiled. "I might forget everyone and everything else but I swear, you're the only thing I will never ever forget. I promise I'll come back to you. So wait for me and be a good boy okay?" _

"_Uhn! Naruto will be a super good boy and obey everyone. So hurry home to me okay?" _

"_Aa. Here… pinky promise. If I don't come back to you, I'll suffer a pain that's worse than swallowing 10,000 nails!" _

"_Naru-chan promises too!!" _

'That strange dream again…'

* * *

"Is there something you wanted to talk to me about?" 

"Aa. It's about Naruto."

"Eh?"

"I know about it. Your engagement with Naruto."

"...I see. Then?"

"I want you to break off with him."

"...What?"

"It was an arranged engagement, wasn't it? He was forced into it. Right now, Naruto is with me. We are happy together. I know he's not breaking up with you because he's afraid to hurt you so please break it off for his sake."

"... Those words... Did Naruto tell you to say them to me?"

"... ...He's often distracted when he's with me these few days. It's because of this issue, I'm sure. Please break it off so that he would not be troubled by this anymore."

A brief silence. Then, "I see. So he's troubled because of me, that's why he didn't say anything huh..."

"...So stop it. I... I really like Naruto. I... I can't stand the thought of him being with someone else! If I could, I would keep him somewhere only I know so he can't be with anyone else. I like him that much!! Kakashi-sensei... you probably don't know how much I like him. You are forced into the marriage too, after all... I really love Naruto."

"...I see. Actually, I'm glad that you like Naruto so much. I, I hope you can make him happy. Not by binding him to you but by letting him do what he likes. Naruto loves freedom and making friends because he was often bullied and ostracized in the past. He likes to be with people so you shouldn't isolate him for your own sake. I don't know how much you like him but there's someone I love too... Someone bright and beautiful. Someone too dazzling for me to keep. Someone who deserves only the best.

Because I love him too much, I can't keep him by my side; because I can't give him the ultimate happiness he should have. So, I won't resist if that person wants to leave."

"...!! Don't tell me you like Na—!"

"Sasuke, I can't break it off; it'll look bad for him. But I wouldn't get any more closer to him from now on so that he won't feel troubled by my presence. Eventually, he would break it off with me himself. When that time comes, I wouldn't stop him."

"...I-I get it. Thank you, Kakashi-sensei."

"...Just make him happy."

Two girls, who had been standing outside the classroom, heard the entire conversation and exchanged a look. Then, they smirked.

* * *

"Why is he so late?" Naruto mumbled as he waited by the door. It was already midnight and Kakashi wasn't home yet. He was starting to get worried about the other man. 

'It has been like this since school started. Even if it had been about the cultural festival, that should have been over at least three days ago!!' The blonde thought as he stared at the clock again. 12:01 a.m. 'Damn it!! Did I do something wrong?! Why does he come home so late these days?!'

It was weird. The man had seemed like he was avoiding him — coming home very late and leaving the house very early; leaving notes or messages on the refrigerator or through SMS-es; not picking up his calls and leaving him extra money so that he could get public transport home; using the school's cultural festival as an excuse (this would no longer be valid because Naruto had asked the class and they had completed the design and props just four days after the start of term; even Naruto had finished _Mission Impossible: Solo Mural Project_ a couple of days ago) for all the above mentioned. He was barely seeing and hearing Kakashi anymore. He had so many things to share with the man — he was back to talking terms with Kiba and the rest; he had been having more weird dreams that seemed so real they felt like his memories; he had attended the (apartment) block's community meeting to discuss the keeping of pets in the apartment; he had gotten a better result for art; he had learnt a new dish... there were so many things he wanted to tell the man. Yet, he had seemed to disappear from Naruto's world.

'And he promised me he would be by my side forever... That liar...' Naruto thought as he bit his lips and rubbed his eyes. He stared at the clock again. 12:05 am. 'Mou!! What did I do wrong?! Why is he ignoring me??!'

The blonde got up from the floor and stormed into the living room to pick up the telephone. Then he dialed a number he had already memorized in the last few days.

"The user that you're calling is currently unavailable. Please try again later. _Beep_." Naruto slammed the phone and screamed. He took a few deep breaths then tried another number.

"Hello?" A sleepy feminine voice asked.

"Ah! Rin-san... Naruto _desu_. Ah... sorry to disturb you so late in the night but I was wondering, is Kakashi with you right now?"

"Eh? Naruto-kun? Ah, are you okay that day? You ran off and didn't come back."

"Oh, uh, about that... I'm so sorry for worrying you and Genma-san and Raidou-san."

"Ah, it's alright. It's okay that you're fine now. Heh, your spouse was most worried! He ran all over the beach to look for you and even yelled at the poor coast-guard when the man said he didn't see any blonde boy around..."

"Oh..." Naruto frowned. 'Then why did he act so indifferent when he found me later?' "Ano, Rin-san... do you know where Kakashi is?"

"Oh yeah! He's not with me... Hm, isn't he supposed to be in your school helping the cultural festival or something?"

"Eh? Ah, but that should be over a few days ago..."

"Hm? Can't be... Didn't he rope Genma and Raidou into painting some mural or something in the hall for the stage event??"

"...!! What?!"

"Eh? You didn't know? He had stormed into _Club One More Kiss_ two nights ago and dragged the two of them to your school to paint. Genma had been complaining about how he had to sneak into a high school illegally and re-paint a super-ugly painting and only get paid a couple slices of pizza... Haha, Raidou was grumbling too, said something about beauty sleep."

'_Besides, Sensei is covering up for us so its fine...'_ Now he finally made sense of Kiba's strange words. 'It was him then. He asked them to help me...'

"A-re? Naruto-kun?"

"Sorry to bother you, Rin-san! I have to do something!! Thanks for your help! Goodnight!!" He placed the phone back and dashed into Kakashi's bedroom. He proceeded to dig into the man's laundry basket (filled with three-day-old clothes from the older man) and pulled the contents out.

'...Found it! Paint stains!! Green; blue; orange; brown... All the main colors I used for my decoration!!' The boy held the scarecrow's clothes close to his chest and stared at the stains in a daze.

This was why Kakashi had been returning home at ungodly hours. This was why he had stopped sneaking into Naruto's bedroom to peck him on the cheek or to tuck the blankets tighter around him late at night, like he used to a while back.

'He must have been too tired...' A strange feeling surged from the bottom of Naruto's chest as he connected the dots, and suddenly he found tears pouring freely from his eyes.

'Why is he being so kind to me?' Naruto hugged the scarecrow's clothes closer to his chest and sobbed harder. The sound of paper crinkling as he held onto the clothes caught his attention and he searched the pockets.

Retrieving the item, Naruto gazed at it curiously. It was a photograph; one that was turning a bit yellow and crumpled. In the photograph was a cute, beaming blonde boy in the arms of a smiling silver-haired boy. He flipped the picture and read the two lines of scribbled words on the back.

_To Kaka-nii: Naru-chan will be with Kaka-nii forever and ever. So don't forget Naru-chan okay? — Love, Naru-chan._

_To Naru-chan: Kaka-nii will remember Naru-chan forever and ever. So stay with Kaka-nii okay? — Always, Kaka-nii._

'Eh? I-I was this c-close to him when I was young?? No one told me that...' Naruto frowned and the incident at the hospital drifted back to his mind. 'This must have been what Jii-san was referring to!' The boy started looking around the room then his eyes fell onto a thick but small leather-bound book, lying haphazardly on the cluttered desk. He walked towards it and gently flipped it open.

It was a journal, and enclosed at the back of the book, were a few old, frayed letters.

He carefully picked one out; it was written to Kakashi and the address seemed to be some army barrack. He looked down the page and was surprised to see his name written at the bottom of the envelope.

'I wrote this?' The blonde thought, amazed, and opened the envelope.

_Dear Kaka-nii_

_How are you? Yaeko-mama is super worried about you... She said that the war is getting bad and that you might be in danger. Then she said a lot of other things Naru-chan __**(6)**__ didn't understand but she cried after that. Kaka-nii, are you going to be okay? Come back to us safely! Naru-chan wants you to come back and play with me... Only being with you is fun::smiley face:: _

_Also, Naru-chan has entered second grade __**(7) **__successfully! Yatta ne!! And because today is the first day of the new grade, Sensei read a book to us. It was the story of Onbu! Naru-chan was so excited! Naru-chan was like Onbu, and Kaka-nii was like the Onba. (Onba is the parent of the Onbu. They are 3 meters tall! They can wrestle very well!!) But Naru-chan thinks he still wants to be Kaka-nii's bride. _

_You still remember right? You haven't forgotten Naru-chan right? Jii-jii and everyone have been laughing at me when Naru-chan told them that __**I**__ want to be Kaka-nii's bride. Why do they laugh? Is it... is it because Naru-chan sounds funny? Mou... but Naru-chan sounded very serious! Naru-chan could 'sa-shi-su-se-sou' now so I said, "Kakashi nii-sama no yome-san naritai!" __**(8)**__ But they still laugh. Nande darou? _

_Ne Kaka-nii... Naru-chan misses you! So... So please come back quickly okay? Naru-chan will be with Kaka-nii forever and ever so please don't ever forget Naru-chan and come back soon!! Hurry home!! _

_Love _

_Naru-chan_

"_Uso_... **(9)**" Naruto whispered as fresh tears burst from their dams. 'Those dreams… They are really my memories then!!'

He ripped through the rest of the letters and found that they were all written by him and held the same hope — to want Kakashi to return safely and quickly. As he read through the letters, an incident in Art class, when Kakashi had been teaching replayed in his mind.

_::Flashback::_

"Ne Kakashi-sensei!" Fan-girl number 1 raised her hand and giggled. "Tell us more about yourself! You've been here for a while but we barely know anything about you..."

"Except the fact that Iruka-sensei is crazy for you!" Another fan chirped.

The class broke into laughter (except a frowning blonde) and Kakashi sweated. "Maa... I guess it should be okay for you guys to know a little more. Since our relationship has blossomed and all."

Fan girl giggled again. "Then... we want to know about Sensei's love life!!"

At that, Kakashi tilted his head as if deep in thought then his obsidian eye crinkled into a happy crescent. "Non-existent!"

"EHHHHHHH—?!?!?!" "_Uso_!!" "Be honest!!" "Tell us!!"

The teacher raised a finger to his lips to signal silence. The noise eventually ceased and he cleared his throat. "Well, I don't exactly have a love life now... But I used to be madly in love with someone in the past."

"Kyaaa——!!!!!" The girls screamed. "Tell us—!!"

Kakashi smiled. "Well, that person is my first love. That person is someone who wrote piles and piles of letters to me during my army life. There was a war then, which I'm sure some of you might know, and I was in the commando squad, so I got dispatched to the war. It was terrible there and I lost a very close friend and got very disillusioned. But that constant stream of letters brought hope and the desire to survive in me. That person who wrote the letter was a crybaby and told me how much tears would flow and how many rivers would flood if I died, so there... "

The girls cooed. The blonde, who had been frowning previously, looked murderous. 'Must be talking about Rin... Tch! Irritating...!!'

"Then Sensei, what happened to her?"

The silver-haired man looked a bit amused before his eyes turned sad then they resumed that usual happy crinkle and he replied. "Ah, well... I got back to that person too late and was forgotten."

_::End Flashback:: _

'It was me... He loves me... It was me... He loves me...' Naruto gasped, and he slid to the floor, his legs suddenly weak.

The weight of all that he had done to the man crashed down on him like a ton of rocks and the sobs became harder. How much it must have hurt, when the person you loved had forgotten about you. Worse yet, he had gone out with someone else behind your back. It must have torn the man's heart... If it were Naruto, he would probably have died from heartbreak, or killed the man.

"Yet Kakashi had... He had still held me gently and stayed by my side..." Naruto got up from the floor and slowly walked to the living room and waited.

"_If I don't come back to you, I'll suffer a pain that's worse than swallowing 10,000 nails!" _

'It's enough. You're back; you don't have to suffer that pain anymore. I won't hurt you anymore.'

* * *

"Oi Kakashi... This is killing us..." Genma moaned as he rubbed his aching back. 

"Yeah, see my eyes here? All these eye bags and dark circles are scaring my colleagues away." Raidou complained as he carried the cans of paint towards the wall.

The silver-haired man ignored those complaints and continued dabbing a darker shade of forest green onto the one-tone green to give the grass and leaves a realistic touch.

"Oi, Kakashi!!"

"Yeah, yeah... I know. Just one more day, okay? This thing is gonna be over in just one day. Just in time for the cultural festival."

"Tch! If you weren't my best friend, I would throttle you and strip you and paint you and leave you outside the school gate for all to see." Genma muttered as he got up and dipped his brush into the paint.

"Haha, yeah, thanks! I'll get you better food than pizza after this."

"You had better!!"

'Just one more day...' Kakashi thought as he continued painting. 'Just one more day... and I'll say goodbye to Naruto.'

* * *

Naruto sighed. In the end, Kakashi didn't come home. Today was already the day of the Cultural Festival. He got up from the sofa and went to wash his face. 

'Ah, I look like a blowfish.' He winced as he dabbed cold water around his eyes to ease the swelling and redness. His whole face was puffy and pale from staying up late and crying and he wondered if he should wear a mask to hide it. Then he shook his head and continued in the daily morning rituals before heading to the door. Just then, the phone rang.

* * *

"Yosha—!! Finally completed!!" Genma cried in triumph as he raised his hands in the air and did The Wave. Raidou cheered and joined him as well. 

"Kakashi, quick, quick!! Come do _The Wave_ to celebrate!!"

The silver haired man laughed, put down the equipment and joined his friends. "Woooo—!! Uooohh—!!"

"Yay!! Finally!! All those late night paintings; all those oily, cheesy pizza; all that illegal sneaking into the school... Goodbye!!" Genma yelled as he packed up his stuff and headed out. Raidou followed suit shortly.

Kakashi picked up his things and stood back to admire the work. Instead of a plain forest and a plain sky, the giant tree in the foreground now had a swing attached to it. On that swing was a small blonde boy and pushing that boy was a spiky, silver-haired boy. Both were smiling happily. Kakashi smiled as the memory from when the two first met at the swing at the park drifted in his mind — he had witnessed a group of kids bullying the blonde and destroying his toys, and he had approached the little boy out of sympathy. It was pure coincidence that the boy was the son of his parent's friends and since then, he had stayed by the boy's side to protect him.

'But now, someone else is going to do that... In the end, first love ends up as just happy memories, huh?' The scarecrow mused.

"Kakashi, if you don't leave now, you're gonna get caught..."

"Yeah, and you have to attend the ceremony after the stage event right? Since you would officially be leaving the school today..."

"Hm? Yeah, coming now..."

* * *

"Eh?" Naruto gasped. "What…?" 

"O-ya? Kakashi didn't tell you?!" Yaeko exclaimed.

"No. H-He hasn't been coming home these few days."

"Eh?! That boy... What in the world is he thinking?! I thought he told you and that you would join him to go over to the Italian branch of your father-in-law's business. He even asked me to buy two tickets for this afternoon!!"

"B-but he didn't say anything to me." Naruto mumbled. Then he remembered something else. "Ano, Kaa-sama, aren't you mad at me? For the _Tanabata_ incident..."

There was a soft sigh. Then Yaeko replied, "Naru-chan, sometimes in life, we do a lot of silly things. I don't really blame you for what you did... It can't be helped if you don't like Kakashi..."

"No! I do!!" Naruto blurted. Seconds later, his eyes widened in surprise. 'I-I-I said it!!"

"Eh?"

'All those chest aches when he mentions someone else. All that anger when he disregards me as his equal and treats me like a kid. All that fury when someone bullies him. I see. So I love him...' Surprise morphed into realization then acceptance.

"N-Naru-chan? D-Did you j-just say...?"

"I love him, Kaa-sama. I... I think I knew that I love him all along... but I was an idiot to ignore the feelings inside me. I... I... I'm sorry. I realize it now." Then he laughed bitterly. "I can't believe it took me so long to discover those feelings... I'm such an idiot."

"...Have you told Kakashi yet?"

"Eh?"

"Have you told him yet? He has been waiting for you to say that to him ever since he saw you again that day! You probably don't remember this but..."

"I remember. I remember all those times with him. But I can't remember how I forgot it all in the first place."

'This boy... He's really alike with Kakashi in some aspects...' Yaeko sweat-dropped. "According to Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama, you lost all those memories with Kakashi from trauma. There was a war and Kakashi got dispatched to it. You asked him to stay but he had no choice in the matter, so the two of you promised to write and wait for each other. One day, a letter from the barrack came and told us that his platoon got ambushed and that there might be no survivors... We tried to keep it from you but you eventually found out and went berserk for a while. Tsunade-sama had to put you to sleep. When you awoke, you just forgot everything. Your brain probably tried to wipe out all those reminders of Kakashi as well because you forgot about us too..."

"But then the letter... He didn't die then... Then why didn't anyone tell me anything?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Ah, we thought he died too but it was pure luck that he survived. His entire platoon and his best friend weren't so lucky though. His best friend actually gave his left eye to him because Kakashi had lost his in the war... That boy didn't recover for a very long time from the war and when he did, he was like a changed man." Yaeko recounted.

"...Ah, so that's what Rin-san meant."

"Eh? You know Rin?"

"Uhn... Kaa-sama knows too?"

"She was the fiancée of Obito, Kakashi's friend who saved him and donated the eye; and she was also the one who did the operation for Kakashi, and took care of him when he was recovering... I had thought the two of them would get together."

"..."

"Uh... Ne Naru-chan, hurry and confess to him. It would be wonderful if the two of you could be as close and lovey-dovey like the past. Hohoho..."

'_Hohoho-janai yo!_' "Aa, I will. Thanks Kaa-sama! Sore ja!" **(10)**

With that, Naruto dashed out of the house and ran all the way to school. He couldn't wait to see Kakashi and tell him he loves him!

* * *

The _Ha-Ou Gakuen_ Cultural Festival was already in full swing when he reached school. 'The phone conversation with Kaa-sama must have taken more time than I thought...' He looked around the stalls and wondered where to start searching. By now, the stage event would have started, so maybe he should go there first... 

"Naruto!" Someone called him and he turned to see who it was.

'Ah... this is bad...' Naruto smiled a bit before waving awkwardly. "A-Ah! Sasuke... L-Long time no see... Aha...haha... Uhh..."

The brunette grabbed his hand and dragged him away. "I've something to tell you."

"E-Eh? But I-I'm in the middle of something."

"It'll take a short while."

"I know you and Kakashi-sensei are engaged."

Naruto gaped for a long while then he fidgeted. "Actually… we're married."

The taller boy looked stricken before he turned dejected and quiet.

Naruto fidgeted and seemed as if he wanted to say something but closed his mouth again. After a short silence, where both parties were immersed in their respective thoughts, the blonde finally spoke. "Sasuke, actually, I had wanted to tell you this but I just couldn't bring myself to say it... Maybe because I was confused as to how I really felt but the thing is... I realize my attraction towards you was something like a, a crush. That's why I never showed you the real me..."

"...Why didn't you tell me the truth?"

"I- I'm sorry but I was..."

The usually stoic boy raged. "Why did you keep it from me? WHY DID YOU KEEP IT FROM ME?! WHY?! WAS IT ALL A GAME TO YOU?!!?" Then his voice dropped to a whisper "...I love you, _usuratonkachi_..."

A pang of regret and ache struck Naruto as he gazed at the disheartened form of the taller boy. "...Sasuke... I am really sorry. I have discovered whom I truly love. I can't be with you anymore... It will just hurt all of us more if I stayed with you."

"...So that's the reason why you no longer blush for me; get distracted when you're with me; no longer spend as much time with me... At last, I'm the one who lost, huh..."

Blue eyes were tinged with bewilderment. "L-Lost? What are you saying?"

"I've lost. I lost you to Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke said with an air of defeat and finality. "I... I've been thinking a lot since that talk with him... After that I had realized that my love for you could never win his love for you, but I thought, at least, you still like me..."

"W-What?"

"...Naruto, what kind of person is Kakashi to you?"

Seeing that solemn look the Uchiha was shooting him, he couldn't help but be serious as well. He pondered on the question for a while before he answered. "Kakashi is like ...air. Air is essential and supports life. Air is always there yet invisible, so sometimes you take it for granted. Kakashi is always supporting me in whatever I do and helping me along the way. But he never shows that he is helping me outwardly; he always does it quietly so I never notice anything. Because he was always there for me, I never seriously pondered about the impact of his existence and did selfish things. Even then, he was happy just to stay by my side... If Kakashi wasn't with me, I-I might not survive."

Naruto put a hand to his chest and closed his eyes. "I can't be what I am anymore if he isn't with me."

Sasuke mulled over Naruto's words and bowed his head. "Complete loss. I can't do it."

"Eh?"

"I can't be like that. I can't stand to do things quietly for you and just stay by your side quietly or be taken for granted. I would want you to notice every single thing I do for you and I would want you to think only of me."

"Sasuke..."

"Go to him. Tell those words to him. He would be very happy."

"Sasuke, I'm very sorry. And thank you! ...You'll find the right person for you someday and get the happiness you deserve!" The blonde waved his hand and smiled that dazzling smile of his before running towards the hall. Sasuke stared at the retreating back and smiled, albeit sadly. 'I should be saying that... Thank you for all the happy times we had shared, Naruto.'

Naruto smiled as he ran through the crowded streets and stalls towards the hall in a much lighter mood. Soon, it would be the closing ceremony. Kakashi would definitely be there! 'Kakashi, wait for me...'

* * *

The wall he (and the rest of the gang) had drawn had been revamped. That was the first thing Naruto saw when he reached the hall. Instead of the monotone paint, there were shades of greens, blues and browns that made the forests look aesthetically real. Also, the large tree in the foreground had been turned into a swing and sitting on it was a small blonde boy. Standing protectively behind was a silver-haired boy. Naruto smiled. He briefly saw a similar image in one of his dreams. 

A mix between a banshee-wail and male screams invaded his ears and he turned his eyes to the performing group on the side of the stage. It was Sakura, Ino, and the cronies in their cheerleader costumes, performing to a song from _Morning Musume_. The guys squealed and waved their banners like crazy when the group did the cutesy dance moves. Naruto chuckled a little at that and quickly scanned the staff seats. His eyes finally landed on Kakashi, who was conversing with Asuma-sensei, and he felt his cheeks burning and his heartbeat began accelerating at the sight of the silver-haired man. 'I'll definitely tell him how I feel!' He swore mentally as he walked towards the seats.

"Thank you everyone!" Sakura smiled as she held the microphone and gave a flying kiss in the direction of the group of fan-boys. "Well, that's the end of the concert. Before we leave, I wished to make an announcement to everyone." The pink-haired girl turned to the direction of the staff seat and gave a small smirk.

"As most of you know, Kakashi-sensei came to our school as a temporary teacher and had been with us for an entire semester. Many of you know that he's a wonderful teacher who has included many additional elements, such as team work, in his art lessons. In fact, he's so wonderful he even has his very own fan club!"

At that, Kakashi's official (and unofficial) fan club cheered. Sakura's smirk widened and she went on.

"But many of you probably don't know this..." The whole hall became silent as they awaited the next sentence.

Ino was the one who continued though. "Ladies and gentlemen!! I'm sure you guys don't know this... but Kakashi-sensei here... actually has a spouse! And it's one of the students from our school!!"

If possible, the whole hall became even quieter and even Time seemed to stop. When the information finally sunk in, the whole hall erupted in pandemonium.

"WHAT?!!?"

"NO WAY!!"

"WHO?!"

"EH??!"

"HOW CAN IT BE?!!?"

"NO—!! KAKASHI-CHAN IS SUPPOSED TO PROPOSE TO ME!!" (!?!)

Sakura and Ino shared a small smile before Sakura spoke up. "Ne Sensei, why don't you tell us more about your marriage with a ..._Uzumaki Naruto_?"

'Mwahahahaha… It's a bit terrible for Kakashi-sensei but let's see how you're going to get through this in one piece, Uzumaki Naruto!!!'

Naruto recover from the shock and hissed. He was about to make his way to the stage to give the girls a piece of his mind when the silver-haired man stood from his seat and slowly made his way to the stage. The hall became quiet again as the teacher took the microphone from Sakura.

"Good afternoon everyone. As you all know, I'm Hatake Kakashi. What Haruno-san just said... well, I won't deny it. It is a fact that Naruto and I are married but the truth is, he was forced to marry me. His grandfather had fallen ill and his last wish was to see Naruto married to someone he knew. Naruto was just being filial." The man paused and gave a small smile. "Thankfully, his grandfather has recovered but Naruto had become trapped in a loveless bond with me. It's unfortunate for him because he's just like everyone of you here — young, rash, rebellious, fun-loving and in love. Did you guys know? He loves the miso ramen at Ichiraku and visits the stall so much he's been getting student discounts from the restaurant owner?"

Laughter erupted from most of the student body and most teachers.

Kakashi smiled and continued. "He likes to wake up early in the morning during weekends to watch anime, especially that _Maruto Shippuden_ and _Peroxide_. **(11)** On Wednesdays, he would dash to the bookstore to buy _Shounen Jump_. Then he would read it all night and wake up late for school. Like all of you, he's just an average student who loves playing and leaves studying at the very last second. Like all of you, he's just a teenager who loves anime and manga. Like all of you, he falls in love and quarrels with friends. He's just more unfortunate than others because he's trapped in a meaningless relationship with an old man like me out of his love for his grandfather."

Naruto wiped his eyes. 'Kakashi… Stop it. Stop smiling like that when you're saying such things.'

"So please, don't alienate him because of his circumstances. Besides, the marriage is only in name. To me, Naruto is more like a kid than a spouse. So please, treat him as all of you do like always. Also, good work everyone; the festival is a blast." The silver-haired man smiled and bowed then he left the stage.

* * *

Naruto tried to get to Kakashi when the man finished his speech. But that annoying group of _Morning Musume_ wanna-be(s) (also known as Sakura, Ino and cronies) spotted him and gasped. Then the rest of the people in the hall noticed and followed their line of vision and saw him as well. Then they jumped to their feet and crowded him, asking him about this and that. None of them appeared hostile, like he had imagined everyone would be when they knew the truth, though; a bit too curious and persistent, that's all. In the end, he couldn't get past the horde of people and Kakashi's retreating back gradually disappeared from his eyes. This would explain why he was currently running like never before around the airport, desperately searching for a head of silver hair. 

'Damn it! Hatake Kakashi, you're going to get it when I find you, stupid, irresponsible jerk!!' Naruto thought angrily as he dashed around the terminals and counters anxiously. However, as minutes passed, the boy became desperate when there was no sign of the man. He checked his watch and checked the plane schedules on the digital boards. 20 minutes left and Naruto might never get to see the man again.

'Damn it! Just where the hell is he?' Cafés checked. Toilets checked. Shops checked. _12 minutes._

'Shit. Shit. Shit. Where else could he be hiding?' Counters checked. Benches checked. Waiting lounge checked. _6 minutes._

'Wait. I haven't checked the telephone booths at that corner... Maybe he might be there?' Naruto dashed to the rows of telephone booths. 'Please... Please let me be in time!! Don't leave me!! Not again!!' Telephone booths checked. No tall, suspiciously dressed silver-haired man with an erotic novel in sight. _3 minutes._

Frustrated, Naruto banged his fists on the wall and screamed. "Kakashi!! You big idiot!! You better appear before my eyes or I'll hate you forever and ever!!" _2 minutes._ "...I'm begging you so please..."

'At least let me tell you how much I love you.'

* * *

A/N 1: 

(1) "KORA—!! Nani o shiteiru?!?" : "HEY—!! What (do you think) you are doing?!?"

(2) Kitsune-Kami Shinto : Fox Deity Shrine　(literally translated)

(3) 'Chou kakkoii ya...' : '超カッコイイや。。。'; Super cool...

(4) "Konbanwa Kakachi nii-chama!" : Young children cannot pronounce the 's' sounds very well so they end up saying 'ch' in place of the 's'. For instance, _desu_ becomes _dechu_.

(5) OKAYU: 御粥; Porridge. Good for people with mouth/oral problems or stomach problems.

(6) Naru-chan : Young children have a habit of addressing themselves with their own names instead of 'I'

(7) Second grade : This should be around... 8 years old?

(8) Kakashi nii-sama no yome-san naritai!; Nande darou: I want to be Kakashi nii-sama's bride!; Why is that?

(9) "Uso..." : "No way..."

(10) 'Hohoho-janai yo!' "Aa, I will. Thanks Kaa-sama! Sore ja!" : 'Don't 'Hohoho' me.' "Yes, I will. Thanks Mother. See you!"

(11) Maruto Shippuden and Peroxide : Parody names of what anime. Make a guess... ::smiles::

(12) _Oba-han_ : Term for housewives/home-makers. Have big afro-like hair-dos, usually have very sharp laughter, and can nag for hours. They can be very aggressive during sales and bargains so be careful when you see them okay?

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

The doorbell rang so he stopped slicing the meat and went to answer the door.

"Yo! We have come to... WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!" Kiba screamed as he pointed as the huge, puffy blonde hair.

Naruto frowned and reached a hand to touch his hair. "What? What's wrong?"

"Y-Y-Your hair!!!" Kiba stuttered. "I-It's like some... Afro!"

The blonde frowned even more. "It's not an afro!" He corrected.

"It is." Shino uttered and adjusted his pink shades. It had gone skewed when he saw Naruto's... new hair.

"It's not!" Naruto insisted and he jabbed his hands on his waist in annoyance.

Shikamaru sighed. "It's not an afro. Afro is bigger than this. This is..." He paused for dramatic effect. "An _Oba-han_ (12) hair."

Chouji dropped his snack bar. "Oh no! Could this mean... Naru-chan is now Naru baa-chan?!?!" The other three in the group mock-gasped before Kiba turned slanted eyes at Shikamaru. "Say Shikamaru-kun, you seem to be really learned in the field of Oba-hans... Why is that so?"

The lazy boy shivered a bit then he mumbled. "My mum."

"You guys, put your things there and come to the kitchen." Naruto ordered as he took his (flowery and pink) apron off and went into the kitchen to wash his hands.

"Sheesh. Acting like an _Oba-han_ already... I fear for _him_." Kiba muttered but followed the smaller boy's orders anyway.

* * *

"Ah, you guys are here already?" 

"_Usu_! We're here to ask you about your opinion on our art pieces."

"Oh okay... Just wait a bit more. I'll be done soon."

"...Peeling garlic again?" Shino asked as he watched the taller man peel cloves of garlic.

"Yeah... Naruto wants to use them for grilling meat later."

Kiba guffawed. "Not to be rude or anything but did you marry Naruto just so that you can peel garlic? You're peeling garlic every time we come over...!"

The other man smiled sheepishly. He looked as if he was going to reply but Naruto suddenly whipped a strip of onion at him. "Wash this after you're done."

"Yes, yes."

"One 'yes' is enough."

"Yes."

Shikamaru sighed. "He's totally whipped." 'Like dad... Oba-han... they are so scary. That's it; I'm never marrying anyone ever.'

Chouji wiped his saliva away (he had salivated at mention of 'grill' and 'meat') and chuckled. "Yeah, never thought Kakashi-sensei would be afraid of Naruto..."

_::Flashback:: _

Frustrated, Naruto banged his fists on the wall and screamed. "Kakashi!! You big idiot!! You better appear before my eyes or I'll hate you forever and ever!!" _2 minutes._ "...I'm begging you so please..."

'At least let me tell you how much I love you.'

"...Ano? You were looking for me?" A warm baritone asked behind the boy. He whirled around to see Kakashi! ...And Rin.

"What is Rin-san doing here?!" Naruto yelled as he glared and pointed an accusing finger at the lady beside the man.

Kakashi sweated. "Uh, she's going to Italy to visit her teacher."

Rin smiled. "Naruto-kun, we could hear you all the way from the other end of the hall... Haha, I'm going to see my teacher. He mentioned some breakthrough about genetics and reproduction so I'm very excited..." Her eyes shone and her aura went several notches brighter. "Hm? Naruto-kun, what are you doing here?"

The boy remembered his initial purpose and whipped his head to look at Kakashi, who had immediately put his hands up in defense.

Stalking to the taller man, he growled... then he pounced. "You big, big idiot! What are you going to do if I didn't get to see you?! Idiot! Pervert! Octopus!(?!?)"

The scarecrow blushed as he tried to ignore the looks from passers-by and gently plucked Naruto's hands from the front of his shirt. "Oi, oi, oi... You're supposed to be in school to help clear up right? ...And where is Sasuke?"

Naruto hugged Kakashi tighter. "I escaped. I broke up with him. I like someone else."

"...I see. So who is it that you like now?"

"...You." Blue eyes gazed seriously into shocked obsidian eye. "I love you, Hatake Kakashi. So you have to take responsibility. For making me fall in love with you... and for targeting me since I was a kid."

"!! ...Does that mean that you..."

"I remember everything. How you treated me nicely when I was a kid and how you say you loved me. You made me make you my first love so take responsibility, understand? Ah, I also remember you said that you would be by my side forever. You can't leave me; I won't let you go." Naruto said with a determined expression and burrowed deeper into the man's arms. "If you leave me without permission, I'll make you swallow 1,000,000 _rusty_ nails this time."

"...Sorry Rin. Looks like you have to go alone." Kakashi finally said after a tense silence.

Rin smiled. "That's alright! You two have fun! Uh, bye!!" She smiled and hastily departed from the fluffy but embarrassing scene. 'Haaaa... Newly weds are so sweet.'

"I'll stay by your side." Kakashi whispered in Naruto's ears then he held the boy's gaze and smiled playfully. "So don't make me swallow the rusty nails okay?"

"Uhn."

Naruto had his second adult kiss amidst deafening clapping and cheers from the tens of curious passers-by who had stayed to watch the drama. He briefly wondered if the rest of his kisses with Kakashi would be as wonderful.

_::End Flashback:: _

"Hatake Kakashi! What. Is. This?" Naruto growled as he took out a stack of photographs from under a pile of books.

The silver-haired man paused in the discussion of the different shades and paints with the four boys, and paled. 'NO! My special collection bought from Shibuya district!!! And I had specially hidden it under my art folders... How!?!'

"Na-Naru-chan..." Kakashi began.

The blonde fumed. "Don't 'Naru-chan' me!! How many times have I told you NOT to buy this kind of dirty pictures!! And they are of high school girls too!! What? I'm not enough for you?! ...Your allowance this month will have a 20 percent cut!!!"

"No—!! Wait!! Listen to my explanation!!"

"No!!"

Despite the countless threats to his _Icha Icha_ series and various collections, Kakashi continue to love Naruto deeply. Despite countless (futile) attempts to throw the pervert's collections and getting angry over his spouse's lazy and perverted ways, Naruto continue to love Kakashi deeply. And so, like all couples in the awkward stage of living under the same roof, they continued to argue and make up, and with every argument, their love only expanded as they slowly learned the way to live together as one.

After all, they were each other's first love and as everyone knows, first loves are always special. ::winks::

* * *

A/N 2: 

It's finally over. ::cries::

I had a wonderful time writing this story and I would really like to take this A/N corner to thank all the constant reviewers for their countless support and encouragement. Your reviews are pretty much the best part of posting this fic. You guys are the best! Seriously!! If it wasn't for your support, I doubt I would have continued this fic like this. Thank you very much!!

Now that FIRST LOVE is officially completed, I would continue the other KakaNaru story, A Fox and A Scarecrow is a No-No. If you like animal cosplay stories like Damekko Dobutsu, do check that one out. ::waves KakaNaru-All-The-Way banner::

Also, do remember Rin-san and Densha-Shounen, Kiba from this story. Why? Because very soon, I'll be writing a sequel to FIRST LOVE. Only thing now is... I wonder how I should do the _m-preg_ thing or if I should even do it at all.

Thank you very much for reading this story and for your constant support. I hope you had enjoyed this as much as I had enjoyed writing it.

Always

Vicadin-Tea

_See you next time!_


End file.
